


The Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition

by AstralVortex



Series: Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Competition, Danganronpa Competition, Game Shows, Gen, World Travel, amazing race but with danganronpa characters, the amazing race - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2020-08-19 16:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 124,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20212999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstralVortex/pseuds/AstralVortex
Summary: Seven students from Hope's Peak Classes 77-B, 78, and 79 (and Hajime) are accepted into a special Hope's Peak edition of The Amazing Race. Paired up with friends and strangers at the starting line, eleven teams of two must circumnavigate the globe, complete grueling challenges, and avoid elimination if they want to win one hundred million yen.Route so far: Los Angeles (USA), Montreal (Canada), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Paris (France), Marrakesh (Morocco), Athens (Greece), Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Phuket (Thailand), Hong Kong (China), Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan)Race completed and winners revealed. Who won? Read to find out.





	1. Leg 1.1

_ **Bold and Italic text will signify when Monokuma is explaining something directly to the audience.** _

_Italic text will signify when a team is in a post-leg interview off the race course._

**Bold text will signify when the focus is put onto a new team.**

* * *

**Leg 1.1**

* * *

_ **My name is Monokuma. I am standing in front of the most prestigious high school in the world, Hope's Peak Academy. This is where twenty-two students will depart on a race around the world for one hundred million yen. The students will be racing without the benefit of personal computers or cell phones, and are only allowed to bring clothes, toiletries, and other necessities from home. We have surveyed Hope's Peak and have found seven people from three lucky classes, class 77-B, 78, and 79.** _

_ **Our students from class 77-B are approaching us now. Let me introduce our competitors!** _

The doors to the school opened as the seven members of class 77-B ran outside.

_ **Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer.** _

_ **Sonia Nevermind, the Ultimate Princess** _

_ **Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician** _

_ **Akane Owari, the Ultimate Gymnast** _

_ **Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager** _

_ **Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic** _

_ **And Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student.** _

All seven students ran out and circled around Monokuma, jumping and clapping excitedly. Monokuma walked up to the audience on the sidelines to the students of class 77-B who either didn't make the cut or refused to participate.

"You, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, who of your participating classmates do you think has the best chance of winning this whole thing?" Monokuma asked.

"I would say definitely Nagito. He's very sharp, though a bit twisted."

"You, Pekopeko, what do you think?"

"Uhh… the name's Peko. And I definitely see potential in Chiaki."

Monokuma nodded and walked back to the middle of the field.

_ **Now we have the students from Class 78th. Here they are!** _

_ **Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation** _

_ **Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro** _

_ **Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler** _

_ **Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star** _

_ **Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer** _

_ **Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant** _

_ **And Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student** _

The class ran into the middle of the plaza, also clapping and smiling. Once again, Monokuma went to the audience to the rest of Class 78.

"Byakuya Togami, what do you think?"

"I'm not sure who will win, but I know for certain Hiro will fall flat on his face. He's a confirmed idiot and has no redeeming qualities."

"Okay, that was abrasive." Monokuma replied, moving to a certain lavender-haired girl. "You're Kyoko Kirigiri correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Who do you have your money on?"

"I would say… Probably Hina. She's the most physically strong person in our class. She's not the brightest, but I'm certain she can make it as long as someone isn't weighing her down."

_ **And now, we will introduce competitors from Class 79.** _

_ **Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective** _

_ **Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut** _

_ **Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer** _

_ **Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist** _

_ **Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master** _

_ **Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor** _

_ **And Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Mage- I mean Magician.** _

Once again, the students ran out.

"Maki Harukawa, who do you think is the strongest?"

"Definitely Tenko. If she's not blinded by her hatred of men, she'll do very well. But on the off chance that she's paired with a boy, I really don't know. She might just implode."

"Kokichi Oma, who do you think will win?"

"Winning? Hmm… I don't know. But I think Himiko… I don't know. How did she even get accepted?"

"Wow, we've got a lot of assholes here today!" Monokuma said. Kokichi laughed.

_ **Also, we have selected one lucky soul from the Reserve Course. Please come in, Hajime Hinata!** _

Hajime ran from the school building alone and stood smack in the middle of everyone.

"Hajime, how does it feel being the only normal one here?"

"Well… they're definitely more talented than I am but that doesn't mean I can't be a frontrunner."

Everyone nodded.

"Now that we've got everybody here," Monokuma said. "I will explain the rules of the race. You will be embarking on a journey to circumnavigate the globe, but it will be split into twelve segments, or legs, of the race. Eight of these legs will be elimination legs, and you will be cut from the race if you arrive last at the end of the leg, also known as the Pit Stop."

Monokuma held up a black and yellow envelope. "This is what's known as a clue, which contains information on what to do next. If your clue says Route Info, it will tell you to either go to a new location, or to complete a task as a team. If your clue says Roadblock, it will tell you to select one team member to complete the task alone. Keep in mind that you cannot have more than 6 roadblocks completed per team member by the end of Leg 11, so make sure you're choosing strategically. If your clue says Detour, it will give you a choice between two tasks. You must complete one of them before you continue racing."

Everyone nodded, comprehending their information.

"Also, the first clue on a given leg will give you a certain amount of money. You can use it for anything you want, such as food, taxis, and maps, but you will not be given any more money until the start of the next leg, so make sure you spend it wisely. Money does roll over from leg to leg, so if you saved 100 yen on one leg, and then get 7000 yen the next, you will have 7100 yen."

Monokuma raised his hand. "Now, you will depart on the journey of a lifetime. The world is waiting for you… Travel safe…."

The teams got prepared to sprint.

"STOP!"

Kazuichi sprinted for a split second, then collapsed on his face. He groaned and stood back up.

"Did you really think we were going to be racing in twenty two teams of one? That's not how this works."

Monokuma pulled out a pack of 22 playing cards, each with a number labelled 1 to 22 on them and began shuffling them.

"Each of you will take a card. Whichever number you recieve is the order that you will begin to choose your partners."

Monokuma walked and passed a card to each person.

"Now, who has card number one?"

Nagito raised his hand and showed the card.

"Please step up and choose your partner."

Nagito looked at his competition. Who would get far?

"I'm going to pick Nekomaru." Nagito said. Nekomaru smiled and ran to stand right next to him.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Who has number two?" Monokuma asked.

Makoto raised his hand.

"I'm going to pick Sayaka."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Who has number three?"

Hajime raised his hand. "I'm going to pick Chiaki."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

The process continued. (The name listed first is the person who chose their partner).

**Tenko and Himiko**

**Kaede and Shuichi**

**Miu and Kazuichi**

**Sonia and Kaito**

**Leon and Ibuki**

**Chihiro and Hina**

**Celeste and Akane**

"Hiro and Rantaro, you know what that means." Monokuma said. "You're a team now!"

"Yaaaayyyy…" Hiro said, eyeing Rantaro.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"_I got picked last?" Hiro asked. "I don't mind having Rantaro as a partner, but it shocked me that no one picked me."_

"_I'm pretty surprised that I got picked last too," Rantaro said, chuckling. "Though it's probably because I'm too mysterious…"_

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"_I don't hate Miu, but I would much rather be with Miss Sonia," Kazuichi said._

"_The fuck did you just say, bitch?" Miu scolded, sitting right next to him._

"_I just said I don't hate you!"_

**Kaede and Shuichi**

_Kaede leaned in on Shuichi's shoulder. "It was fate."_

_Shuichi blushed._

**Tenko and Himiko**

"_Of course she picked me." Himiko said with a dull voice. "She always picks me."_

* * *

"You should know that if you come in first either this leg, you will win this!" Monokuma said, holding up a slip of laminated paper displaying the words 'Express Pass'.

"This is an Express Pass. If you win it, you can use it to skip any Roadblock or Detour of your choice up to Leg 9. It's a powerful tool that you must use wisely. However, you don't just get one, you get two. You must give away the second Express Pass to a team of your choice by the end of Leg 5."

"Now then," Monokuma said. "We are ready to start. You will find your first clue with your first destination on top of your bags by the fountain. You will find all the information you need there.

Now, the world is waiting for you."

Everyone got into a running stance.

"Travel safe…. GO!"

Everyone charged straight for the fountain, trampling over each other. Hiro tripped after the first step, and Hina ran so fast that she overshot it and fell into the fountain. Tenko reached the clue first.

"Fly to Los Angeles, USA!" she read.

**[i] Fly to: Los Angeles, USA**

_ **Teams must now fly on one of two flights to Los Angeles. However, if teams do enough research, they'll find that the first fight to depart will arrive thirty minutes after the second due to a longer layover. Once their flights are booked, they may not return them. Once they arrive in Los Angeles, teams must make their way to the Hollywood walk of fame to find their next clue.** _

**Tenko and Himiko**

"You have 34,400 yen for this leg of the race. Come on, Himiko! We're going to LA!" Tenko encouraged.

**Kaede and Shuichi**

"TAXI!" Shuichi shouted, waving his arms. A taxi pulled up next to them as they got in. "Narita Airport!"

"I'm so glad we got paired together," Kaede said.

"Yeah, me too. I don't know how it would be like to be one of those teams who got paired up with someone outside their class. It'd be hard to tell who you'd get along with." Shuichi said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I'm actually pretty close with Chiaki," Hajime explained, sitting in their cab. "We play a lot with each other after class. I felt like it was my best option."

"I'm sleepy…"

"We've ran like ten feet!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Leon came up with the super dope idea of taking the metro," Ibuki explained.

"Yeah," he replied. "It's cheaper than a taxi, and I'm concerned with the money issue. From here to the airport will probably run around 10,000 yen. Not to mention the issue with traffic."

"So," Ibuki began. "Ibuki hears that you're a baseball player!"

"Yeah, I am… You know, when I got accepted, I actually felt like ditching baseball to become the Ultimate Musician. But I didn't know there already was one, haha."

"Oh, haii!" Ibuki greeted, looking at Makoto and Sayaka on the other side of the subway car. They waved back.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Taxi!" Rantaro shouted, waving his hands. A taxi went right by them and didn't stop.

"Dammit!" Hiro swore.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"How did you pull up a taxi so fast?" Nekomaru asked, crammed into the tiny taxi.

"What can I say? I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student, after all!"

**Sonia and Kaito**

Sonia and Kaito ran down to the subway to see their train already departing.

"We missed it," Kaito said. "We've already paid for our tickets so we can't just go out and hail a taxi…"

"We just have to wait, then." Sonia said, calm as ever. "It's only four minutes."

"Are you really a princess?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"It appears we're hitting traffic," the cab driver said. Hina put a wet hand to her forehead as Chihiro sat in the seat nervously.

**Celeste and Akane**

"I'm not great with... physical stuff," Celeste said.

"That's no matter! I can handle it!" Akane replied.

* * *

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the airport first and ran around the ticket counters trying to find one marked with a race flag.

"There!" Miu pointed. They ran up to it.

"We need to get to Los Angeles, fast as possible."

"There's a flight that departs at 1 AM on Japan Airlines, and a flight that departs at midnight on United Airlines."

"We would like the midnight flight, please."

The ticketwoman typed a few things on her computer and handed Miu the ticket.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st on Later Flight.**

Kazuichi hi-fived Miu.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"We need to get to LAX." Himiko said.

"We have a flight departing at midnight on Japan Airlines with a layover in Manila, and a flight departing at 1 in the morning on United with a layover in Seattle." the ticketman said.

"Oh, layovers?" Tenko asked. "Which one _arrives _first?"

"The United flight arrives first."

"Great. Book that. You're not like those other degenerates."

The ticketman sighed and printed out their tickets.

**Tenko and Himiko: 1st on Earlier Flight**

"Wow, Tenko," Himiko said with her usual stoic expression. "You caught that."

"Thanks, Himiko! Aren't I just great?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki came running in alongside Makoto and Sayaka. They both went to adjacent ticket counters.

"We need a flight to Los Angeles," Leon said.

The ticketwoman explained their airline choices.

"We'll take the Japan Airlines flight," Ibuki said.

"Wait!" Sayaka stopped, holding out a hand. "The United flight arrives first!"

"Wha?" Ibuki asked. "Can you check that?" she asked the ticketwoman.

"Yes, there's a longer layover. It arrives thirty minutes before the other one."

"Alright, book United." Leon said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd on Earlier Flight**

**Leon and Ibuki: 3rd on Earlier Flight**

**Sonia and Kaito**

Sonia and Kaito were looking at their options. "So the Japan Airlines flight departs first?"

"Yes, that's correct. An hour earlier."

"Fine. Let's book it." Kaito said.

**Sonia and Kaito: 2nd on Later Flight**

**Kaede and Shuichi**

Kaede paid the cab as Shuichi grabbed their bags and ran inside.

"We need to get to LAX, as quick as possible."

"We have two flights tonight, one leaving at midnight and another leaving at 1 AM."

"What time do they arrive?" Shuichi asked.

"The 1 AM flight gets in at 2:45 while the midnight flight gets in at 3:15."

"Alright, book the 1 AM flight." Kaede said. "Nice thinking, _detective_."

**Kaede and Shuichi: 4th on Earlier Flight**

"I wonder how many others are going to get tripped up by that," Shuichi thought out loud.

**Celeste and Akane**

"Book the earliest flight, please." Celeste said. The ticketwoman handed them the 12 AM flight.

**Celeste and Akane: 3rd on Later Flight**

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Book Japan Airlines," Nekomaru started,

"No, hang on, before you book it, are there any layovers?" Nagito asked.

"Yes, The first flight has a layover in the Philippines while the second flight has a layover in Seattle."

"What time do the flights arrive? "

"The United flight arrives at 2:45 while the Japan Airlines flight should arrive around 3:15."

"Thank you. Book United please." Nagito demanded.

The attendant typed up a few things before handing Nagito two tickets.

"These are the last tickets for the flight."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Last on Earlier Flight**

"Nice job, Nagito!" Nekomaru said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"The United flight arrives earlier, but it's full?" Hina asked.

"It's the only option left." the ticketman said. "Sorry."

"Fine, fine, book Japan Air." Chihiro said.

**Chihiro and Hina: 4th on Later Flight**

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"You're saying the other flight's full?" Chiaki asked. The ticketman nodded. "Fine. Just take the other one."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 5th on Later Flight**

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"If it's the only flight left, so be it." Rantaro said. "But I don't understand why the later flight has more teams on it."

"That's not so important!" Hiro replied. "Just be glad we're on the earlier flight!"

**Hiro and Rantaro: Last on Later Flight**

* * *

**Later Flight Gate**

All the teams on the later flight had gathered at the gate.

"So, is this the group that'll be racing for the Express Pass?" Kazuichi asked.

"Express pass? This group?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah, the earlier flight." Miu said. "There's no way those morons on the second flight will be able to win the Express Pass. They leave an hour later."

Hina was about to say something else until Chihiro clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What?" Hina whispered.

"I don't think anyone else knows that this is the later flight." Chihiro said.

"Oh," Hina replied.

"We shouldn't tell them. If they think they're racing for first, they'll probably slack off a bit thinking we have an hour cushion before elimination." Chihiro said.

"Oh, you're sneaky!" Hina said.

* * *

_ **Teams are now en route to Los Angeles, USA. The first flight to arrive will carry Tenko and Himiko, Leon and Ibuki, Makoto and Sayaka, Kaede and Shuichi, and Nagito and Nekomaru. The second flight to arrive will carry Miu and Kazuichi, Sonia and Kaito, Celeste and Akane, Chihiro and Hina, Hiro and Rantaro, and Hajime and Chiaki.** _

* * *

**1st Flight: 20 Minutes Early, 2:25 PM**

"Go!" Leon shouted, with Ibuki running somewhat far from him.

"Sorry! Ibuki doesn't run often!"

Himiko was at the very back while Tenko was encouraging her to run.

Makoto and Sayaka reached a cab first.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"We need to go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame." Makoto said.

"Hop in."

**Kaede and Shuichi**

"Do you think the others know they're on the later flight?" Kaede asked.

"I bet some of them do, but some of them probably don't. If they think they have an hour lead when they really don't, that's great for us."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We're going to Hollywood!" Nekomaru said.

"I've been before," Nagito replied. "It's not that special. Just a bunch of stars on the ground."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I wonder if we'll get to see famous people!" Ibuki gushed.

"You are so overly excited about this." Leon replied. "It's really cute."

"Huh?"

"What?"

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Take us to Hollywood, degenerate!" Tenko shouted at the cab driver. The driver flipped her the bird and then drove off. "This is why I hate degenerates."

Himiko talked to the next cab, who agreed to take them to Hollywood.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

The driver pulled up at Hollywood. "Wait here!" Makoto said. They dashed out onto the walk of fame as they encountered the clue box.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Disneyland."

**[i] Proceed to: Disneyland**

Makoto and Sayaka got back in their taxi cab just as Kaede and Shuichi were pulling up.

**Kaede and Shuichi: Currently in 2nd Place**

"We're going to Disneyland!" Kaede cheered.

"Do you think we're going to ride something?"

"I hope so."

**Ibuki and Leon: Currently in 3rd Place**

"STARS ON THE GROUND!" Ibuki screamed. Leon grabbed the clue and ripped it.

"We're leaving!"

"Aww…"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to DISNEYLAND!" Nekomaru read. "Eh. I've been to Disneyland Tokyo multiple times for team bonding."

"I'd be more excited if I was, ten." Nagito said.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"You live in LA. How do you not know where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is?" Tenko scolded.

"I dunno. I am sorry."

"DEGENERATE MAAAALE!"

"I can Google."

"Then Google it!"

The driver began searching on google while he was driving and then swerved into oncoming traffic.

"I hate this guy so much." Tenko said.

Himiko sighed. "What a pain."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka arrived first at Disneyland.

"Roadblock. Who wants to sled through the Alps?"

**[R] Matterhorn**

_ **The Alps are the tallest mountains on the European peninsula. Now, teams will get the chance to sled down them. In this Roadblock, one team member must get on board the Matterhorn Bobsleds Rollercoaster in Disneyland. After boarding, they must look around for eight letters, all tagged with a shape. After the ride is over, the team member must place the eight letters based on what shape the letter was tagged with. Once they have done it correctly, they will have spelled out their next clue. However, if they spell it incorrectly, they'll have to ride the rollercoaster a second time.** _

"Do you want to sled down the Alps?" Makoto asked. Sayaka laughed. "Haha, fine, I'll do it."

**Ibuki and Leon: Currently in 2nd Place**

"It's our first challenge!" Ibuki screamed.

"You scream a lot."

"I screamed in six different libraries and now I'm banned from all of them."

"Alright, I guess I'll do it." Leon said.

**Kaede and Shuichi: Currently in 3rd Place**

"How did they get ahead of us?" Kaede asked. Shuichi shrugged. "Do you want to do the Roadblock?"

"Sure," Shuichi replied. "I think I can do it."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Where are you going?" Tenko screamed.

"To the Hollywood Walk of Fame."

"We're out in the middle of nowhere!"

"Tenko, it's not a big deal."

"Now we're going to lose because of this degenerate."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"I guess I'll do it," Nagito said. "This'll be a cakewalk."

**Leon, Sayaka, Shuichi, Nagito**

Each of them got into their respective seats to board the Matterhorn rollercoaster.

"This is going to be fun, huh Sayaka?" Leon asked

"Yeah!" Sayaka replied. "But we can't get sidetracked."

They all put on their seatbelts as the ride began to move. It moved into a cave almost immediately as they passed by an H tagged with a triangle, barely visible with the outside light.

"H," Shuichi muttered, trying to remember it. The outside light vanished as they moved deeper into the cave, as lights turned on. The ride was still moving very slowly at this point, so they could easily see a W with a pentagon.

The lights stopped as they began to speed up, with a longer stretch of pure blackness of not seeing anything. Then, they saw the outside light with an L with a star on one side, and an I with a square on the other.

"_The positions of the letters and shapes were meant to trip you up," Leon explained. "They put two letters on either side of you so you would have to turn your head to see one of them and completely miss the other."_

At this point, the roller coaster began to speed up with rough and abrupt turns. Along the way there was an R with an octagon, an E with a circle, an S with a hexagon, and an I with a septagon.

"_At the speed that it was going," Shuichi explained. "You could easily tell what letter it was, but it was harder to tell what shape it was. Because it was kind of blurry from the speed, the circle, octagon, hexagon, septagon, were all quite indistinguishable._

The ride came to a stop as each of the four riders stepped out of the vehicle and sprinted to the challenge area, where there were eleven pedestals with shapes laid out in a certain order.

**Nagito**

"Okay, Pentagon, Septagon, Star, Hexagon, Triangle, Square, Octagon, Circle." he repeated.

"I know star is L, triangle is H, circle is E, I think the Pentagon was W…"

He placed the L, H, E, and W in their respective spots, leaving W_L_H_E. He knew his remaining letters were I, I, S, and R. He decided to just try to use phonetics to his knowledge, as there was no way there wouldn't be a vowel between L and W, which spelled out WILSHIRE.

"Can I get a judge please?"

The judge walked up to Nagito's pedestal and handed him the clue. Nagito ran outside and straight to Nekomaru.

"You did it!" He congratulated. Nagito ripped it open and read it.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Route Info. Make your way to the Wilshire Grand Center and search for your next clue."

**[i] Proceed to: The Wilshire Grand Center**

"Let's get out of here!" Nagito encouraged.

"I have to shit."

"Hold it in!"

**Shuichi**

"Can I get a check?" Shuichi asked, revealing WILSHIRE.

"That's correct." the judge said, handing him the clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Nagito and Nekomaru just left," Kaede said. "We could catch up to them!"

**Sayaka**

"No, I can't remember!" She pouted. "I can't remember any of these."

She placed the W on the Pentagon. "I have to go again."

**Leon**

"Can I get a check?" Leon asked. The judge came up as his pedestal read WHISTLER

"That's not correct. Go again.

"Dammit!"

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Screw it," Tenko said. "Pull over."

The cab driver pulled over to the sidewalk as Tenko threw the cab fare at him. "We'll get a different cab, thank you very much."

She slammed the door as he drove off. She turned around to some woman walking on the sidewalk.

"Do you know where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is?"

"It's only around two blocks that way" she said.

"Thank you. Come on, Himiko, let's run."

* * *

**A/N: And that's where I'm going to cut it short for the first entry. Please let me know if you have any questions and concerns, and I know that I do have a few odd teams here. Originally, Akane was supposed to be paired with Nagito and Celeste was to get Nekomaru, but I swapped them because it felt like too much of a contrast. Also, tell me which team you're going to be rooting for! The next half of Leg 1 will be up soon.**

**I'm also open to suggestions as to where the teams can go and what they can do. I already have a route planned, but I'm willing to change it up a bit. These are real locations, by the way.**


	2. Leg 1.2

**Leg 1.2**

* * *

**Just for clarification, I do want to say a few things. I'm trying to make nice Nagito, like how he was pre-chapter 1. I feel like if there's no killing game or if there's no explicit hope vs despair, he'll be pretty normal. I don't remember what happened in DR3 with him though lol. The people of class 78th already know that Chihiro is a guy, but the people from the other two classes don't. Also, Japan speaks english, so they won't have a language barrier in English speaking countries but they will when they go to more foreign nations. I will also be downplaying Nagito's luck. He'll still be lucky, just not as lucky as he was in DR2 and DR3.**

**Also, if you would like, I could do a little 'Elimination Station' where you can see the eliminated teams at the race's halfway mark as well as right before the finale. They'll also be watching and reacting to the footage to see what's happening.**

* * *

**Later Flight: 20 Minutes Delayed 3:35**

The teams sprinted through LAX, practically barrelling over the other passengers and people exiting the plane.

**Celeste and Akane**

Akane gripped Celeste's wrist and was practically dragging her through the airport as Celeste's feet barely caught up to her.

"Stop, you're ruining my shoes!" Celeste screamed. Akane didn't listen and didn't stop until they were out by the taxi line.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They hopped into a taxi. "Hollywood Walk of Fame. As quick as possible, we're in a race!" Hajime ushered.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"We got to the airport fast enough to get on the hour earlier flight," Kazuichi said. "But we got delayed twenty minutes so they're going to close in behind us."

"Of course, you moron! That's how math works!" Miu shouted.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Hollywood Walk of Fame, please," Rantaro directed in a very nonchalant voice.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina sat in the back of their cab.

"I don't think anyone's caught on that we're in the back. There's no one behind us." Hina said.

"We have to keep that a secret," Chihiro replied. "But if someone asks, tell them the truth. We don't want to make enemies this early."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede were in their cab, as Kaede was leaning forwards and pointing towards the road.

"Is that Nekomaru and Nagito?" Kaede asked. Shuichi leaned forwards as he saw the unmistakable shape of Nekomaru.

"Definitely."

Kaede leaned to the driver. "You see those people in that cab? That's our competition. We need to go faster than them at all costs."

The cab driver sped up, passing Nagito and Nekomaru.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Wait, was that Shuichi and Kaede?" Nagito asked. He leaned forwards to the cabbie. "We need to go faster, please."

"No, I can't. I can get pulled over if I go faster than them."

**Sonia and Kaito**

"Do you think we will see any actors?" Sonia asked.

"If we do, I probably wouldn't know. I don't watch American movies."

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko finally reached the Walk of Fame.

"Finally," Himiko said. Tenko ripped open the clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to Disneyland," Tenko read.

They rushed to the street and hailed a cab with relative ease.

"Finally, a female driver," she muttered.

**Sayaka, Leon**

Sayaka and Leon hopped back into the rollercoaster.

"Let's do this again," Leon said. Sayaka sighed as the rollercoaster began moving again.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

The two ran into the Wilshire Grand Center and reached the clue box.

"Good, we beat them!" Kaede said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to see the city from a new angle?" Kaede read.

**[R] Australian Rappel**

_ **The Wilshire Grand Center is the tallest building in Los Angeles. If you stand on the roof, it offers a great view of the surrounding city. In this Roadblock, one team member will get a chance to see the city from the top, down. Strapping up to these harnesses and ropes, the team member that did not do the first Roadblock must commit a forward rappel from the roof of the building all the way to the ground. Once they touch the floor, they will receive their next clue.** _

"If you have done the first Roadblock, your partner must do this one," Kaede read. "Oh, well. Guess I have to do it."

Kaede read the rest of the clue and put her hands up to her head. "Oh my god,"

"It's alright, it's alright. Just get it done as fast as you can." Shuichi said.

Kaede stepped in the elevator to head up to the roof, sweating bullets

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Wait here," Tenko said. The driver gave her a thumbs' up as they ran into the park and opened the clue box.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"I can do this one…" Himiko lazily said. She and Tenko ran up to Ibuki and Makoto, who were waiting for Sayaka and Leon to finish. Himiko went to wait for the next ride while Makoto and Ibuki tried to strike up a conversation.

"What took so long?" Makoto asked.

"Shut up, male!"

"What took so long?" Ibuki asked.

"Stupid degenerate taxi driver got us lost."

**Sayaka, Leon**

"Okay… so the H goes here… and the R goes here… this last one is certainly an E… can I get a check?" Sayaka asked.

"Congratulations." the judge replied, handing Sayaka her clue.

How about me?" Leon asked.

"That's correct," the judge said, giving Leon the clue.

Outside, Makoto and Ibuki saw Sayaka and Leon running towards them.

"Great job!" Makoto said.

"Ibuki thinks you did great!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 3rd Place**

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to Wilshire Grand Center for your next clue," Sayaka read. Everyone ran back out of the park and to their cabs.

"Ibuki wishes you good luck, Tenko!" Ibuki waved.

**Sonia and Kaito**

"There's the walk of fame," Kaito pointed. "Wow, there really are stars on the ground."

Sonia ripped the clue.

**Sonia and Kaito: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way to Disneyland," Sonia read. "I've been to Disneyland Japan and Disneyland Paris. It's fun."

"Well hopefully it's fun this time too," Kaito said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Alright, Disneyland," Hajime said.

"I've played a game that took place at Disneyland. It sucked." Chiaki said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 8th Place**

"DISNEYLAND!" Chihiro shouted, hopping up and down.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 9th Place**

"Make your way to Disneyland," Rantaro read.

**Kaede**

Kaede had made it to the roof of the building as the race helpers were strapping her into the harness.

"I'm getting extremely nervous now…" She said, smiling nervously.

"Alright, you just need to go to the edge of the building and just walk off the side." the instructor said. Kaede tensed up and slowly walked to the side of the building. She put one foot over the edge, then the other foot, then stepped off the lip of the building, leaving her horizontal.

"Aah!" she happily/nervously shrieked.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru ran inside the building to reach their clue box.

"Roadblock." Nagito read. "You have to do this one."

Nekomaru nodded and got into the elevator.

Meanwhile, Shuichi was outside watching Kaede at the very top of the building slowly descend down the side. Nagito ran up to him and turned around to watch.

"Would you do that?" Nagito asked.

"Absolutely not," Shuichi replied. "Though, I'm not sure if Kaede would be willing to either."

**Himiko**

Himiko placed the last letter on the pedestal to spell WILSHIRE.

"Is that good?" She asked.

"That's correct." the judge said, handing her the clue. Himiko ran away from the ride and right up to Tenko.

"You're amazing, Himiko!"

"It wasn't really that hard…"

She ripped the clue and read it.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"Alright, let's go." Tenko said. They got into their cab just as Hina and Chihiro got out of theirs.

"Was that a team on the later flight?" Himiko asked with a deadpanned expression.

"I think so," Tenko replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Was that Tenko and Himiko?" Hina asked.

"It was. Absolutely," Chihiro said. He and Hina ran up to the clue box and ripped it.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 6th Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to sled down the alps?" Hina read. "Ooh, I want to do it!"

Hina read the rest of the clue. "That was… not a great choice. I'm not great at mental stuff."

"_When I saw Chihiro pick me, I felt like we would be a good force with me doing the physical challenges and Chihiro doing the mental challenges. If we swapped them… it could be bad."_

"That's alright," Chihiro said. "You'll be fine. It's leg 1. I doubt it'll be too hard."

**Kaede, Nekomaru**

Kaede was around halfway down the tower as Nekomaru was around a quarter of the way.

"_I was going down the tower and all of a sudden I see Nekomaru going faster than me, and I'm just thinking, I have to speed this up! If I get passed with such a head start, Shuichi'll be so disappointed." Kaede explained._

"THIS IS INSAAAAANNNEEE!" Nekomaru shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"I think you should do this, Chiaki," Hajime said. Chiaki nodded.

**Sonia and Kaito: Currently in 8th Place**

"I think I would be better at this," Sonia said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 9th Place**

"I'll do this! With my gorgeous girl brain, this challenge will crumble faster than your love life!" Miu bragged.

"Hey!" Kazuichi protested.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 10th Place**

Rantaro opened the clue box. "Wait."

"_When I go to notice the clue box, I noticed that there were only two clues left," Rantaro said. "I didn't know if the others had caught on, but it meant that all the other teams on the second flight actually arrived earlier than us. If the others don't notice, that's better for us."_

"Hiro," Rantaro said. "These are the last clues. The other flight somehow got in before us. We don't have a cushions."

"Oh, I see," Hiro said.

"I'll do the roadblock," Rantaro said. "I need to make up a lot of time and get ahead of these guys."

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"This is an amusement park," Celeste said. "I doubt it'll be physical. I think I can handle it."

**Kaede**

Kaede touched down to the ground as the race instructors unbuckled her harness.

"That was insane," She said. They handed her the clue as she ran back to Shuichi on the other side of the street, almost getting hit by a bus.

*HOOOOOOOONNNNNNKKKKKK*

"Woah!" she screamed.

"Good job, Kaede, but next time, watch the street." Shuichi said. "You can't win a hundred million yen if you die."

"Haha… yeah."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Kaede read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Griffith Observatory**

_ **The Griffith Observatory is a popular tourist attraction here in Los Angeles. Sitting atop Mount Hollywood, it offers a great view of Downtown Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, and Hollywood. It will now be the Pit Stop for the first leg of the race. The first team to check in will receive two Express Passes. However, the last team to check in will be eliminated.** _

"Let's get those Express Passes," Shuichi said, determined. "Nekomaru's already on the ground."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru touched down to the ground as the assistants began to take down his harnesses. When they were done, they handed him the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Nice, Nekomaru," Nagito said. "We could catch up to them."

They ran down and hopped into their taxi cab. "Griffith Observatory," Nagito said. "Go as fast as you can go."

**Ibuki and Leon**

Ibuki and Leon exited their cab at the same time as Makoto and Sayaka. They each simultaneously ran into the building and ripped open their clues.

**Ibuki and Leon: Currently in 3rd Place**

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 4th Place**

"It's a Roadblock," Sayaka read. "You have to do this one."

"I guess you have to, Ibuki." Leon said. "No saying anything else about it."

**Hina**

Hina looked at all the letters in the bin besides her. She knew that she had an E at the end and a W up front, but that was about all she consumed from that first trip.

"No," She said, sighing.

**Rantaro**

Rantaro spelled out Wilshire. "Can I get a check?"

"Congratulations," the judge said, handing Rantaro the clue.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 6th Place.**

**Chiaki**

"Can I get a check?" Chiaki asked. The judge nodded and gave her the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

As she ran back out to Hajime, she waved the clue in his face.

"Hiro and Rantaro just left. We could catch up to them at the next challenge." Hajime said.

**Celeste**

Celeste put hands up to her face. "I have no clue." She muttered. "At least that ride was… fun."

**Sonia**

"Wilksire?" Sonia asked.

"That's not correct," the judge said, directing her back towards the rollercoaster.

"Oh. That is… my bad."

"_On the bright side, that was a lovely amusement park ride," Sonia said._

**Miu**

"I got it! Wilshire! Ha! I'm so much smarter than those morons who have to go on a second time."

"I'm sure you are," the judge said, handing her the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 8th Place**

**Ibuki, Makoto**

They both sat in the elevator as it was heading up to the top floor.

"Are you nervous?" Makoto asked.

"No! Ibuki loves extreme activities!"

"Well… I'm really nervous,"

The elevator opened back up as they ran out to the edge of the building where the people began putting harnesses on them.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"Oh, Himiko, I'm so glad you don't have to do this!" Tenko said.

"Nyeh… I don't think I'd fare well with it anyways."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"You see that cab up there?" Nagito asked. "We have to pass them"

Their cab sped up as they narrowly passed Shuichi and Kaede.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"NO, don't let them pass us!" Shuichi urged. The cab driver floored it as they rapidly sped away from Nagito and Nekomaru.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Keep your lead!" Nekomaru urged. The driver sped up even more to catch up to Shuichi and Kaede's taxi. However…

*Police siren noises*

"Please pull over," the policeman said. The driver sighed and pulled over to reel down his window.

"Sir, you were going five miles over the speed limit,"

"Sorry, officer, it's just… I was going so fast that I couldn't see the speed limit sign."

Nekomaru turned to Nagito. "I thought you were lucky!"

"I have spikes of both good and bad luck! I guess today's just one of the bad days."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Their driver pulled over at the observatory as Shuichi paid him exact change.

"There's Monokuma!" Kaede said. Monokuma was standing at the Pit Stop Mat right in front of the observatory.

They ran over and hopped on the mat. "Shuichi and Kaede… how do you like the race so far?"

"It's great," Kaede said.

"Well… I am also proud to tell you that you are team number ONE!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Place**

"For winning this leg of the race, you have won the two express passes." Monokuma said, giving them the passes. "Remember, you must give out the second Express Pass to another team by leg 5, and they're usable up until Leg 9."

Shuichi nodded. "Thank you."

"_To think that we, of all the people on this race, came in first on the first leg," Shuichi explained. "That's amazing."_

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"I'm going to let you off with a warning," the officer said. "Just monitor your speed."

"Thank you, officer," the driver replied. With that, they were back on the road, and arrived at the Observatory. Running up to the mat, Monokuma greeted them with open arms.

"Nagito and Nekomaru, you are team number TWO."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 2nd Place**

"Alright…" Nagito said. "My talent let me down today. We could've won those express passes."

"No matter!" Nekomaru shouted. "We don't need those to win!"

**Hina**

The three girls sighed and stepped out of the rollercoaster for a second time.

"I think I've got this now," Hina said. She ran up to the pedestals and spelled out WILSHIRE

"Is that good?" She asked. The judge nodded and handed her the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 9th Place**

Hina ran from the other two as she reunited with Chihiro.

**Celeste**

Celeste, on the other hand, was still having trouble.

"Was it… a circle? Or an octagon..?"

She groaned and threw one of the tile letters on the ground. "Let's go again."

**Sonia**

"I think I have it…" Sonia said. She placed the H as she asked for the judge.

"That's correct," the judge said, handing her the clue.

**Sonia and Kaito: Currently in 10th Place**

Sonia ran out to Kaito, in which they immediately left the park. Akane was now standing there, alone.

"You know, it's not over," Akane said. "Maybe the next challenge is super physical and I can beat everyone else. Or maybe someone gets lost."

**Ibuki, Makoto**

Ibuki touched the ground just a few seconds before Makoto.

"Here is your clue," the assistant said, handing Ibuki the clue. Ibuki hugged the assistant and then ran off to find Leon.

"Leon!" she shouted. She ran to him as they ripped open their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Leon read.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 4th Place**

"You're so great, Makoto," Sayaka said, leaning on his shoulder.

"Oh- uhh- well- thanks?"

**Tenko**

Tenko was around halfway down when Makoto and Ibuki left the premises.

"I can do this," Tenko said.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 6th Place**

"Have you climbed down a building before?" Rantaro asked.

"Oh, yeah, totally! I do that on a regular basis, at least once a week. Are you kidding me? Of course not!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Well that's… new." Hajime said, after reading the clue. "I don't have a big deal with heights."

"You can do this, right?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah. No problem."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 8th Place**

"Ha," Miu said, reading the clue. "You should've done the last one!"

"You literally said you wanted to do it," Kazuichi replied.

"So what? Go up there and kick some ass!"

**Celeste**

Celeste got out of her third time in the ride and stepped off to the side to hurl in the flower display.

"_Motion sickness got to me," Celeste said. "Fourth time on a rollercoaster while turning your head… not my cup of tea. But I would not live up to my talent if I were to give up."_

She walked up to the pedestal and took off a few letters to replace them.

"Can I get a check?" Celeste asked.

"Congratulations," the Judge announced. Celeste smiled.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"Akane!" Celeste shouted. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. We might catch up later."

**Sonia and Kaito**

Sonia pointed to the cab in front of them. "Is that Chihiro and Hina?"

"It looks like it," Kaito said.

Suddenly, the cab ahead of them turned right as they turned left.

"I am not sure if this is a good sign," Sonia said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Did they go the other way?" Hina asked, looking behind the cab.

"They're going to hit rush hour LA traffic," the driver said. "They'll be stuck there for an hour. I'm taking a detour."

"You're the best driver ever," Chihiro said.

**Tenko**

Tenko touched down to the ground to receive her clue as she ran across the street to Himiko.

"HIMIKOOOO!"

"You did it," Himiko said.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Tenko excitedly read.

"Nyeh. Let's get this over with."

**Ibuki and Leon**

"Ibuki and Leon," Monokuma suspensefully said. "You are team number three!"

**Ibuki and Leon: 3rd Place**

Ibuki hi-fived Leon who went in with a fist bump, causing an awkward 'ball in socket' formation.

"Uhh…" Ibuki said.

"Oh, there comes our next team," Monokuma announced. Makoto and Sayaka came running in.

"Makoto and Sayaka, you are team number FOUR and you will be continuing to race."

**Makoto and Sayaka: 4th Place**

"So, how do you two feel about your first leg?" Monokuma asked.

"I love it!" Sayaka gushed.

"It gets Ibuki's heart thumpin'!"

"Great experience." Makoto said. "Definitely jaw-dropping."

"To be honest, I'm a bit jealous of Ibuki for going down that building," Leon said.

**Hiro**

Hiro was strapped up to the harness.

"Oh my lord," Hiro said, walking up to the edge of the building. "This is safe? This can hold me?"

"It held Nekomaru," the instructor said.

"And I won't die?"

"Eeh… we'll see."

Hiro stood right at the edge of the building, looking at the massive drop below.

Rantaro stood down at the bottom. "What is he doing?"

It wasn't until Hajime and Kazuichi opened the door to the roof that Hiro was motivated to go. He slowly stepped off the edge and swung so his body was perpendicular to the wall.

"OOH MY GOOOODDD!" He shouted, slowly descending and clenching an iron grip on the rope.

**Sonia and Kaito**

"Why aren't we moving?" Kaito asked.

"It's 5 PM Los Angeles on a Friday." the driver replied. "Is this your first time here?"

Sonia put prayer hands to her face.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 9th Place**

"Right there!" Chihiro pointed. "Roadblock. Oh. I have to…"

"It's alright, you can do this!" Hina encouraged.

**Hajime**

Hajime had walked over the edge and began forward rappelling down the front of the tower, walking down the side to gain some traction and stop swinging around.

"This is awesome!" he said.

**Kazuichi**

Kazuichi stood on the top of the building. He walked towards the edge, then walked back.

"I can't," he said. "Oh, I can't."

"Now, listen to me," the instructor said.

"No, no, I'm not listening to anything you say!" Kazuichi replied.

"It's not that hard. Just don't think about it too much. Close your eyes if you have to."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Tenko and Himiko, you are team number five." Monokuma announced.

**Tenko and Himiko: 5th Place**

"I'll take it," Tenko said. "Not our best performance."

"Technically it was," Monokuma replied.

"Do you want to be my next training dummy?"

"Er, nevermind."

**Hiro**

Hiro touched down as they handed him the clue.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 6th Place**

"Wow, you did better than I thought you would," Rantaro said.

"Thanks!... Wait a minute…"

**Hajime**

Hajime also touched down as soon as Hiro rendezvoused with Rantaro.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Let's go check into the pitstop," Chiaki said. "We're not first, but at least we're not last, am I right?"

They left as Miu kept staring up, not seeing Kazuichi anywhere.

"Where is that wimpy bitch?"

**Chihiro**

Chihiro arrived to the roof just as Kazuichi was pacing back and forth.

"You have to do this, you have to do this," Kazuichi muttered, holding his head. He stared at Chihiro.

"You can go in front of me," he said. Chihiro was stunned. He was nervous too, but this was a great chance to get in front of them. He nodded as he stepped forwards and got attached to the rope.

Sweating, Chihiro walked off the side as he was greeted with 1000 feet of open air right below him.

**Kazuichi**

"Okay, Kazuichi," he muttered to himself. "If that little girl can do it, why can't you? You're a grown man."

He approached the second rope as he was clamped into it. He then took a deep breath before walking off the edge, only around five feet behind Chihiro.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

Their cab pulled up to the observatory as Rantaro carefully counted out their money to pay him.

"Thank you," Rantaro said. He shut the door as he and Hiro ran up to the Pit Stop mat.

"Hiro and Rantaro," Monokuma said. "Neither of you got to choose your partners. But perhaps that's not a bad thing. You're team number SIX."

**Hiro and Rantaro: 6th Place**

"Wow!" Hiro gasped.

"We did well…" Rantaro said with a smirk.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro was mostly down to the ground as he was neck and neck with Kazuichi.

"Come on, Chihiro!" Hina shouted.

"Beat the hell out of her!" Miu shouted.

**Sonia and Kaito**

*HOONK*

Sonia and Kaito were still in the middle of the highway as the honkings of cars around them began to make them deaf.

**Celeste and Akane**

"Wow, that traffic is insane," Akane said, Luckily for them, their driver took the last exit before the blockage.

"Welcome to LA," the driver replied. "We can take a detour. It'll save you an hour."

**Chihiro**

Chihiro touched down maybe around fifteen seconds before Kazuichi.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 8th Place**

"You got in front of them!" Hina praised. "Nice job!"

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 9th Place**

"What did you do up there?" Miu asked. "Were you jerking off to calm your nerves? Or to relieve yourself after spending a whole day with me?"

"Am I stuck with you for the rest of the race?" Kazuichi asked.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number seven."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 7th Place**

"Seven?" Chiaki asked. "I thought we were second."

"The other flight got in around an hour earlier."

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in 10th Place**

Celeste and Akane pulled up to Wilshire Grand Center.

"Everyone's gone," Celeste said. "It's a Roadblock. You do it."

"No problem!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Miu and Kazuichi are right behind us," Hina said. Both their cabs pulled up to the observatory as they paid their fare and pulled their backpacks out of the trunk. They both dashed to the Pit Stop, but Miu and Kazuichi barely outran them.

"Miu and Kazuichi, Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma said. "You are teams number eight and nine."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 8th Place**

**Chihiro and Hina: 9th Place**

"Wait, eight?" Kazuichi asked.

"Your flight had a longer layover, so the other flight arrived first." Monokuma explained.

"That could've been bad," Miu said.

"It could've."

**Akane**

Akane suited up and walked to the edge of the building with no hesitation. She quickly dropped down the side and began tugging at the rope.

**Sonia and Kaito**

Kaito sighed as their driver took the exit ramp.

"Finally," Kaito said.

**Akane**

Akane began sweating all of a sudden. She noticed that everyone was gone and could only see the faint outline of Celeste down at the ground.

"_When I was in the middle of that challenge," Akane said. "I just got a gut feeling that we were in last or at least close to being last. I knew that our flight said we would come in before the other teams, but I had a feeling."_

Just then, however, she saw a second taxi pull up as two individuals came out.

**Sonia and Kaito: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Kaito read. "I have to do it."

**Akane**

Akane was around halfway to the ground "Go fast, go fast, go fast," she muttered.

**Kaito**

Kaito waited as the instructors put the harnesses and hooks onto him. He stared down nervously as he took his first step off the roof.

Both of them descended at more or less the same pace.

**Akane**

Akane touched down to the ground as the instructor gave her the clue.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in 10th Place**

"We're not last," Akane said.

"Well, we have to beat them to the mat, no matter the cost." Celeste said, hopping into their cab.

**Kaito**

Kaito reached the ground with mach speed as he ran back up to Sonia.

**Kaito and Sonia: Currently in Last Place**

"Come on! Let's go!" Kaito urged. They ran down to their cab. "Griffith Observatory. As fast as possible."

**Celeste and Akane**

Akane faced behind, looking for the cab. "I don't see them,"

"There's a lot of traffic behind us, though," Celeste said.

**Kaito and Sonia**

"Maybe they get stuck in traffic like we did," Kaito said. "Or maybe they got lost… you can't really know."

* * *

Monokuma sat at the Pit Stop as the team got out of their cab and ran up to the mat.

"Rough day, huh? Well… I am proud to tell you that you are still in this race and that you are team number TEN."

**Celeste and Akane: 10th Place**

Celeste put her hands up behind her head in relief as Akane bent forwards.

"That could've been bad," Celeste said.

"_If we had gone home today, the first day, because of me," Celeste began. "I would be the most disappointed person. I don't lose."_

* * *

Sonia and Kaito ran up to Monokuma on the mat.

"Sonia and Kaito," Monokuma announced. "All the teams have already checked in. I am sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Sonia and Kaito: Eliminated**

"That is alright," Sonia said. "This first leg was pretty sweeeet, though. I have gratitude."

"Eh, I was hoping I'd get further," Kaito said. "If only we got a different cab, am I right?"

"_At the end of the day, it's disappointing to get out due to traffic," Kaito explained. "But now I have a new friend from Novoselic."_

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Shuichi and Kaede

2nd: Nagito and Nekomaru

3rd: Leon and Ibuki

4th: Makoto and Sayaka

5th: Tenko and Himiko

6th: Hiro and Rantaro

7th: Hajime and Chiaki

8th: Miu and Kazuichi

9th: Chihiro and Hina

10th: Celeste and Akane

**Eliminated: Sonia and Kaito**

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

Teams swing into action in Montreal, Canada as alliances are formed and enemies are established. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Please comment if you have any input or if you want to let me know who you're rooting for!**


	3. Leg 2.1

**Leg 2.1**

* * *

_ **This is Griffith Observatory, one of Los Angeles's most famous attractions. Alongside it being an observatory and planetarium, it offers a great view of the city. It will also be where teams will begin the second leg in a race around the world.** _

_ **Shuichi and Kaede, who arrived first at 4:45 PM, will depart first at 4:45 AM.** _

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st to depart: 4:45 AM**

Shuichi ripped his clue. "Fly to Montreal, Canada."

**[i] Fly to: Montreal, Canada**

_ **Teams must now fly over 2,000 miles to the second largest city in Canada, Montreal. Once they touch down, teams must find the Biosphere to receive their next clue.** _

Shuichi and Kaede stuffed their backpacks in the back of their cab as he drove off to the airport.

"We've won the two Express Passes yesterday," Kaede explained. "Hopefully we can use the second one as leverage to get other teams to help us,"

"_So the second Express Pass we had to give out to another team before or during Leg 5," Shuichi explained. "But, we figured to hang onto it until we absolutely had to give it out. With other teams wanting it, they'll want to get on our good side. But as soon as we give it away, we're going to get targeted."_

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 2nd to depart, 5:03 AM**

"Oh, Montreal!" Nagito read. "I heard they make great bagels there."

"Hahaha, you sure do love bagels. Let's just get to the airport. I have to shit."

"We were just in a hotel room for twelve hours"

**Leon and Ibuki: 3rd to depart, 5:21 AM**

"Montreal," Leon read. "You ever been to Canada?"

"Nope!" Ibuki replied.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 4th to depart, 5:22 AM**

"Wait up!" Sayaka shouted at Leon and Ibuki. She and Makoto ran up to them. "Do you wanna share a taxi?"

"It'll cut costs." Makoto said. They asked a nearby coffee shop to hail an extra-large cab for them.

"Do you want to maybe make an alliance with us?" Leon asked. "I mean, all three of us are friends, and we were neck and neck for most of the last leg."

"I don't see why not," Makoto said. He shook hands with Leon as Sayaka shook hands with Ibuki.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

They approached the ticket counter at LAX. "We need to get to Montreal. As fast as possible, please."

"There is a direct flight on Air Canada open that departs at 9:50 and arrives at 3:05"

"That's the earliest flight?"

"Yes, that's the earliest that I have."

"How empty is it?"

"It's mostly empty," the ticketwoman said.

"So if let's say 9 other groups like us were to come in one at a time in the next two hours, do you think everyone would be able to get on this particular aircraft?"

"I would say that assuming they arrive in time to actually be able to physically get on the plane, most likely."

"Thank you. We'll take it," Kaede said. After the ticketwoman handed her the ticket, Shuichi turned to her.

"So the other teams will catch up to us," Shuichi said.

* * *

At the end, all of the teams had gathered at the gate.

"So I guess Sonia and Kaito went home yesterday, huh?" Makoto asked. Celeste nodded her head.

"Well, I'm glad Sonia's gone," Akane said. "She can speak almost every language in the world. That could've given them a major advantage."

Kazuichi eyed Akane.

Nagito walked up to Kaede and whispered in her ear. "Could we maybe have the Express Pass?"

"Oh, uh… I'll think about it." Kaede said.

"_Nagito came up to ask for the express pass," Kaede said._

"_No, absolutely not," Shuichi said. "They're the one team that's currently crossed out on our list. They almost beat us, and they're going to be a massive threat. We don't need them to have another advantage."_

"I'm actually pretty surprised that Kaito, of all people, went home first," Shuichi said. "He's got an unbreakable spirit."

"Maybe that dumb blonde chick weighed him down! Ha, ha!" Miu teased. Kazuichi looked like he was about to kill her.

"That's a little far, Miu," Chiaki scolded.

"So about the Express Pass," Leon began. "Who got it? Who won yesterday?"

"They did," Nagito replied, pointing to Kaede and Shuichi."

"Could we have it?" Tenko asked, pressing her fingers against each other. "I mean, I won't consider you a degenerate, Shuichi, if you hand it to us."

"We need a few more legs to think and bond with people," Kaede said, hands in the air. "For now, just forget about the Express Pass and try to do your best."

* * *

**Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport: 3:05 PM**

The plane arrived at the airport during a hot summer afternoon.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Go go go!" Hina shouted, climbing into a cab.

"Wait for me!" Chihiro shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki jumped and swung into the back of the cab while Leon sat in the front seat. "Biosphere," he said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Taxi!" Hajime shouted. They were about to climb in until Celeste shoved him out of the way and got in herself as Akane held onto the door.

"Not cool!" Hajime shouted.

"No, we had the cab first!" Chiaki argued.

"These guys had me first," the driver said with a heavy French accent, pointing to Hajime and Chiaki. Celeste sighed and stepped out as Hajime got in.

"Fricking Celeste," Hajime said. "So inconsiderate. I can't believe they tried to pull that stunt on us!"

**Celeste and Akane**

"I don't see why you had to do that," Akane said.

"It would've put them a few minutes behind us," Celeste said. "The other line of cabs is all the way over there." she said, pointing to the left.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"TAXI!" Nagito yelled, approaching the second line of cabs. "Biosphere," he said.

"Tu veux aller à la biosphère?"

"Uhh… yeah. That."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede hopped into a cab all sweaty. "It's really hot!"

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Everything's in a language I don't know!" Hiro said, staring at all the French road signs outside.

* * *

Taxis approached the Biosphere, a massive sphere made out of pipes and wires surrounding a building.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko were the first team to leave their cab, immediately followed by Makoto and Sayaka.

"There's the Clue Box, Himiko!" Tenko pointed right at the entrance. They arrived as Himiko ripped the clue.

"Detour. Bagel Making or Package Delivering?"

_ **In the first Detour of the Race, teams will have to either bake one of Montreal's prized delicacies, or navigate an underground maze.** _

**[D1] Bagel Making**

_ **Compared to the New York style bagel, Montreal Bagels are sweeter, denser, and cooked in a wood oven. Here at St. Viateur Bagel shop, everything is done by hand. In Bagel Making, teams must use this bagel dough to make 100 bagels. Once 100 passable bagels have been molded, boiled, and dressed, teams will receive their next clue.** _

**[D2] Package Delivering**

_ **This is the Montreal Underground City, a series of connected office buildings, malls, shops, hotels, and much more, used to escape either the city's frigid cold or the sweltering heat. In fact, it's almost 20 miles long. In Package Delivering, teams must pick up three packages from Place de Arts and deliver them appropriately to three locations in the Underground City, without the use of a map. With each package delivered, teams will receive 1/3 of a clue. Once all three packages are delivered, they will have their next destination spelled out for them.** _

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 1st Place**

"We're doing bagel making," Tenko said. "It looks faster and less labor intensive, but only five teams can bake at a time."

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

"I dunno, that delivery sounds like it'll be a lot of running," Sayaka said.

"I'm not that great with running. Bagel making."

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Is this the biosphere?" Rantaro asked. The driver nodded as they got out and searched for a clue box. However, the driver had brought them to the Montreal Biodome instead of the Montreal Biosphere.

"Where's the clue box?" Hiro asked.

"It's probably at the entrance," Rantaro replied.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"We're going to do the package delivering," Hina said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"Bagels," Nagito said. "You can't convince me otherwise. WE'RE DOING THE BAGELS"

Nekomaru laughed. "Alright, alright,"

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"We're going to do Package Delivering." Kaede said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Let's do the package delivering," Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Bagels," Chiaki said. "I'm not fit enough to run that much."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 8th Place**

"I think we should do the bagel challenge," Kazuichi said.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in 9th Place**

"I think we're the last ones here," Celeste said. "And the bagel challenge has a 5-team limit. I think our best bet would be to deliver."

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Dammit, where's the clue box?" Rantaro asked, annoyed. He turned to a person who was skating right in front of the building.

"Is this the Biosphere?"

"No, this is the Montreal Biodome," he replied.

Hiro put his hands up to his head in frustration and ran back to the cab.

"Hey! You took us to the bioDOME. We need to get to the bioSPHERE."

"Oh, whoops. My bad." the driver said.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Our awesome taxi driver is taking us to the bagel shop," Tenko said.

"Oh, so even the Japanese have heard of St. Viateur?" the driver asked.

"No, we're doing this game show challenge thing," Tenko replied.

"Oh, I see."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"I think that's Tenko and Himiko up there," Makoto said, pointing to the cab in front of them. Makoto leaned up to his cab driver. "Could you pass that cab up there? That's our competition."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Do you think we're making a mistake?" Chihiro asked. "Bagels sound a lot easier."

"I'm not that great with doing nimble things with my hands," Hina said.

"I'm not that great with running," Chihiro replied. "Nevermind. It's fine."

The driver stopped. "Place des Arts," he said. Chihiro and Hina got out of the cab and paid the driver as they ran into the Underground facility.

"There are the packages," Chiro said, pointing to ten piles of three packages.

Chihiro lifted one up. They were large boxes, but they were actually pretty light. But still, the size of them made it difficult to carry more than one.

"Don't worry," Hina said. "I'll carry the last one."

Chihiro looked at all the labels on the boxes that each had a location written on it.

Box 1: Pharmaphrix, Place Ville-Marie

Box 2: Benix & Co, Complexe Desjardins

Box 3: Laura Secord, Centre Eaton

"Alright, unless this place is a complete mess, there should be a directory somewhere around here," Chihiro said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Is that Hina and Chihiro?" Kaede asked.

"I think so," Shuichi replied. They ran and glanced at the boxes before picking them up and running after Chihiro and Hina.

**Leon and Ibuki**

They got out of their cab as they sprinted towards the piles of boxes as they saw Shuichi and Kaede disappear into the underground system.

"We can easily catch up to them," Leon said.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"No, don't let them pass us!" Tenko shouted. Their cab driver sped up. But it didn't really matter as both their taxi and Makoto and Sayaka's taxi arrived at the bagel shop almost simultaneously.

They both ran inside as the baker greeted them.

"You're here for the race, correct?"

"Degenerate, don't you see the camera and sound guys following us?"

"Alright, alright, I'll show you how to make them. We already have a huge hunk of dough made for each of you, so you don't need to worry about that."

The baker moved to a huge block of dough as he cut off a strip. "You need to wrap the dough around your hand like this, and then rip off the excess. Then you need to roll it against the table to seal the two ends together, but make sure not to roll it too much that it becomes thin."

Tenko, Himiko, Makoto, and Sayaka nodded.

"Then, we need to flour and then boil them in some of this honey water," He said. "After that, you just need to coat them in sesame seeds. This is where we would normally send them into the wood oven, but that's where you'll stop and we'll evaluate you."

Tenko and Himiko stood at one station while Makoto and Sayaka stood at another.

Tenko used the knife to chop a strip of dough and tried to morph it around her hand like the baker did, but it ended up falling apart.

"Erm…"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka got off to a great start as they were correctly forming and rolling out the bagels.

"Though I'm an idol, I actually love cooking," Sayaka said.

"That's no issue," Makoto said. "Who says idols can't cook?"

"Some guy in the comment section of one of our music videos."

"Screw that guy. No one needs him."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the bagel shop as the two teams already there turned their heads, then resumed their actions.

"Have you ever baked?" Kazuichi asked.

"Psh, no. Why would I waste my time baking when I could just pick up bread from the store?"

Nagito and Nekomaru as well as Hajime and Chiaki arrived from behind them as the baker began his demonstration.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

Hiro and Rantaro finally arrived at the Montreal Biosphere.

"Detour. Bagel Making or Package Delivering?" Hiro read.

"Package delivering doesn't have a limit," Rantaro said. "We should do that. I doubt we're not last."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Is there no map anywhere?" Hina asked, frusturated. "Did you see a map?"

"I didn't see a map," Chihiro said.

"_So, the underground system either didn't have a map, which would be stupid," Chihiro said. "Or, the race crew removed all of the maps on the walls. And we were explicitly forbidden to purchase a portable paper map."_

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Hey, have you two seen a map?" Kaede asked.

"No, I didn't see any at all," Hina replied.

"I did see an empty glass frame that looks like it could have held a map… production probably removed it for this challenge." Shucihi said

"That would probably inconvenience the tourists."

"In front of it, someone was passing out paper maps. I think we just have to rely on these direction signs," Shuichi said, pointing at the sign that said Complexe Desjardines and then an arrow.

"Well in that case," Hina said. "Do you guys want to work together?"

"Sure!" Kaede replied.

"Wait! Include Ibuki and Leon!" Ibuki shouted, running towards them in the tunnel.

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste picked up two boxes as Akane picked up three, and sprinted into the Underground City. Inside, they saw the three teams ahead of them running around the corner.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 22/100 Bagels Molded**

Hajime rolled out his tenth bagel as Chiaki rolled out her twelfth.

"These bagels look great," Chiaki said.

"You're surprisingly good at this," Hajime said.

"I'm good at nimble things."

**Tenko and Himiko: 25/100 Bagels Molded**

Himiko put up her twentieth bagel as Tenko was struggling with her fifth.

"How do I do this?" Tenko asked.

"You're rolling it out too much," Himiko replied. "It looks too thin."

"Thanks, Himiko!"

"Nyeehh…"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 40/100 Bagels Molded**

"We're a fifth of the way there," Makoto said.

"But they have to judge it afterwards, though," Sayaka said. "If it's too imperfect, we'll have to rebake those ones."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 18/100 Bagels Molded**

"You're better at this than I would think, Nekomaru,"

"This isn't different than massages."

"...massages?"

**Chihiro and Hina, Shuichi and Kaede, Leon and Ibuki**

"Benix and Co is on the next floor," a Montreal native said,

"Alright, thank you," Kaede said. The three teams got on the escalator and began going upstairs where they arrived at Benix and Co and each turned in Box 2 as the recipient handed each of them a small slip of paper with some cut off words on it.

**Chihiro and Hina: **1 **2 **3

**Shuichi and Kaede:** 1 **2 **3

**Leon and Ibuki: **1 **2 **3

**Celeste and Akane**

"We could just follow them," Celeste said. "We're all going to the same place, right?"

"Yeah, but can you actually run fast enough?" Akane asked.

"I hate you."

They ascended the escalator as Celeste and Akane ran into the store and traded in their box for the slip of paper.

**Celeste and Akane: **1 **2 **3

**Miu and Kazuichi: 30/100 Bagles Molded**

"_As an inventor, I work with molding hot metals and wires and stuff, just like Kazuichi, but I actually take the time to make it look nice!" Miu explained. "That's why it's no issue to make sure everything looks nice and even."_

"My hands are getting tired," Kazuichi complained.

"What? Is that how much energy you have? I'd be so disappointed in you if you were in bed with me!"

Meanwhile, some normal Canadian customers were sitting over the counter, staring at her.

"What the fuck? We're trying to eat here!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 90/100 Bagels Molded**

"This isn't that hard." Sayaka said. "It's definitely easier than the other one."

"We're getting close," Makoto said. "And we actually don't know if it's going to be easier,"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that we still have to get every bagel judged at the end. Then we're going to have to redo it."

**Tenko and Himiko: 65/100 Bagels Molded**

"There we go!" Tenko said with glee. "I've got the hang of it now."

"Nice job," Himiko lazily said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 50/100 Bagels Molded**

"I think we can actually start to boil the bagels now," Chiaki said.

"But we only have half of them done," Hajime protested.

"Yeah, but the boiler can only handle around forty bagels at once. Why don't I just boil and dress them as you continue to mold them."

"That's a great idea." Hajime said. Chiaki counted out forty bagels and threw some flour on them, and dumped them into the honey-water boil.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"Alright, we're done," Sayaka said. Makoto grabbed some flour and salt-bae'd the bagels as Sayaka gave him a look of disapproval.

"I'm not sorry,"

She rolled her eyes as they dumped around forty bagels into the boiler.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

The boys gripped their boxes as they ran through the tunnel to Complexe Desjardines. Hiro tripped, dropping his boxes and hitting a few pedestrians. Rantaro gripped his arm and pulled him up, and grabbed some of his boxes.

**Chihiro and Hina, Shuichi and Kaede, Leon and Ibuki**

"That was a long run," Shuichi said, bending over and huffing.

"Yeah, but it was worth it," Leon said. "Good thing these Canadians are helpful and bi-lingual."

"The Place Ville-Marie should be up ahead," Kaede informed. They walked into the building from the tunnel, all sweaty and panting.

"Do you know Pharmaphrix?" Ibuki asked

"No english,"

Ibuki sighed as she turned to another person. "Do you know where Pharmaphrix is?"

"It's just straight ahead," the man said. "You can't miss it."

**Celeste and Akane**

"We lost them," Akane said. "You're too slow."

"It's fine," Celeste said. "We don't need to rely on them."

**Tenko and Himiko: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"And, that's it!" Tenko said. "Let's start boiling."

Himiko sprinkled some flour over the bagel dough as Tenko tossed them into the boiler. However, she tossed all 100 of the bagels into the boiler that was clearly too small for it.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

After Sayaka pulled out the bagels from the boiler, Makoto had dipped each of them into the sesame seeds and laid them out into a crate.

"Can we get a check please?" Sayaka asked. The baker walked up and checked every single bagel.

"They're perfect," the baker approved, handing Makoto and Sayaka a clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Cirque du Soleil Headquarters for your next clue," Sayaka read.

**[i] Proceed to: Cirque du Soleil Headquarters**

"We're going to the circus!" Sayaka gushed.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko pulled each bagel out of the boiler and coated them in poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

"Can we have a check?" Himiko asked.

The baker walked up and looked at their bagels.

"These weren't boiled enough," the baker said, tossing around twenty bagels into the garbage.

"These bagels don't have enough seeds," he tossed around seven into the bag.

"And these ones are boiled too unevenly," He chucked twenty more bagels into the trash. "The rest are fine."

**Tenko and Himiko: 53/100 Bagels Completed**

Tenko put her hand on the back of her head. "I want to scream right now,"

**Chihiro and Hina, Shuichi and Kaede, Leon and Ibuki**

The six of them ran into the shop.

"We have a delivery," Hina announced. They each put their boxes on the counter as the woman at the front desk slid each of them a second slip of paper.

**Chihiro and Hina: 1 2 **3

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1 2 **3

**Leon and Ibuki: 1 2 **3

"We've got one more," Leon said.

**Hiro and Rantaro**

Hiro handed the box to the counter.

**Hiro and Rantaro: **1 **2 **3

"We have to catch up," Rantaro said. "We don't know how far behind that cab mishap took us."

"Hopefully the bagel challenge is slower," Hiro said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

At this point, Hajime put the last few bagels into the water as Chiaki was pulling them out and dunking them into the poppyseeds.

After Chiaki pulled the last few out and seasoned them, Hajime asked for a check.

"These four are too lopsided," the baker said, tossing them into the garbage. "And these three are too thick. The rest are perfect."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 93/100 Bagels Molded**

"We have to redo seven," Hajime said. "That's not too bad."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

Nagito threw around twenty bagels into the boiler as Nekomaru tossed them into the bowls of sesame seeds and poppy seeds.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

Miu seasoned the final bagel. "Check!" she demanded.

The baker looked over it. "They're perfect," he said, handing Kazuichi the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Cirque du Soleil Headquarters and search for your next clue," Kazuichi read.

"Ha, we can totally catch up with Makunto and Sayadumb!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"They're great," the baker judged, giving Nagito the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Can I have a free bagel?" Nagito asked.

"Go for it."

He snatched a fresh bagel from the oven as Nekomaru ripped the clue.

"Make your way to Cirque du Soleil." he read.

**Chihiro and Hina, Shuichi and Kaede, Leon and Ibuki**

"My legs are killing me," Chihiro complained, dashing through a tunnel.

"Yeah! Doesn't the rush feel great?" Hina asked.

"What rush?"

They arrived at the Centre de Eaton as Leon asked a native Montrealer.

"Laura Secord is on the second floor." he said. They ascended the building and spotted the shop almost immediately. It was right in front of the stairs!"

"We have a package delivery!" Ibuki sang. The person at the counter took all of the boxes and each gave them the final parts of their clue.

**Hina and Chihiro: Currently in 4th Place**

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 6th Place**

"It says Cirque du Soleil," Shuichi said, piecing the slips of paper together. They all ran outside of the Eaton Center and attempted to hail cabs.

**Celeste and Akane**

"We've been running forever," Celeste said. "This sweat is ruining my makeup."

"Who cares about that?" Akane asked. "Where are we?"

Akane turned to a person who was playing Flappy Bird on his phone. "Hey, is this the Place Ville-Marie?"

"No, this is the Bell Centre," he said.

"How do we get to Place Ville-Marie?"

The man pointed the direction they just came. "Did we pass it?"

They continued running. "This is just where we came from!" Celeste complained. "We're backtracking! We're not making any progress!"

"This is a nightmare," Akane said, sweating profusely with hands behind her head.


	4. Leg 2.2

**Leg 2.2**

* * *

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Is this the Place Ville-Marie?" Hiro asked a passerby.

"Yeah," he replied.

Hiro and Rantaro climbed the stairs up to the shop and turned in their boxes.

**Hiro and Rantaro: 1 2 **3

**Celeste and Akane**

"Celeste, we were just here!"

"No, we're backtracking," Celeste replied.

"Don't you think we're backtracking too much?"

"Shut up and do what I tell you to."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Yeah, right here," Makoto said as their cab stopped in front of the building. They ran out to the clue box right in the front entrance. "Roadblock. Who wants to swing into action?"

**[R] Trapeze Act**

_ **Cirque du Soleil is the largest theatrical producer in the world. It stars in over 250 cities with over 19 different types of shows, all headquartered here in Montreal. In this Roadblock, one team member must join the performers and pull off a successful Trapeze Act. They must jump from their pedestal to grip onto the trapeze, jump to the person on the second trapeze, and then jump back onto the first trapeze and the starting platform to receive their next clue.** _

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"I guess I'll do it," Makoto said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Trapeze act?" Kazuichi asked. "You think you can pull it off?"

"Ha! Of course I can pull it off with this body!"

"It's about your performance… not about looking good…"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"Can we get a check please?" Hajime asked.

"All good!" the baker replied, handing him the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Make your way to Cirque du Soleil," Chiaki read.

**Tenko and Himiko: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"Can we get a check please?" Himiko asked.

The judge walked up and trashed five bagels. "These are undercooked."

**Tenko and Himiko: 95/100 Bagels Completed**

"What are we doing wrong?" Himiko asked.

**Celeste and Akane**

"Place Ville-Marie?

"Yes, that's here."

"Great," Celeste said, her and Akane ran upstairs to the shop and traded in their box.

**Celeste and Akane: 1 2 **3

"We wasted a lot of time," Celeste said. "Hopefully we can catch up to the others later."

**Hiro and Rantaro**

Rantaro gave the last box to the cashier at Laura Secord as he handed the last piece of the clue.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 8th Place**

"Cirque du Soleil," Hiro read. "I've heard about that place!"

"It's pretty famous," Rantaro replied.

**Makoto: 1st Attempt**

Makoto had just gotten changed into tight-fitting shirt and shorts as he stood up to the pedestal.

"_So for this challenge, we were told we needed to leap from the first trapeze to the hands of the person on the second trapeze, then back to the first and up to the pedestal." Makoto said. "There were people demonstrating, but it didn't seem like we actually had to do those fancy flips that they were showing us."_

Makoto gripped the trapeze as the person on the second trapeze drew closer. He jumped from the pedestal and instantly slipped and fell onto the net.

"I don't think he's doing so well," Sayaka said, laughing.

**Miu: 1st Attempt**

Miu was dressed in a blue leotard as she climbed up to the pedestal. She gripped the swing as she let go. However, she let go while the second person was too far away, causing her to fall onto the net.

"Dammit!" She shouted, pounding the net.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"I guess it's me," Nagito said, handing Nekomaru the clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: 100/100 Bagels Molded**

"Is this good?" Tenko asked, wiping sweat off her forehead with a rag.

"It's great," the baker said, handing Himiko the clue.

"Finally," Tenko said. Himiko ripped and read the clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 9th Place**

"Make your way to Cirque du Soleil," Himiko read.

"Come on, Himiko! We can catch up to them at the Roadblock!"

**Makoto: 3rd Attempt**

Makoto swung down, letting go of the trapeze as he smacked against the girl on the second trapeze, causing both of them to fall down.

"Dude!" the performer said.

"Sorry!"

**Miu: 3rd Attempt**

Miu jumped down but somehow fell off the trapeze before she got any swing action.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Roadblock," Ibuki read. "Ooh! Ibuki wants to!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"I'll do it," Kaede said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 6th Place**

"If it's here, it just has to be athletic," Hina said. "I'll do it."

**Nagito: 1st Attempt**

Nagito stood at the pedestal, waiting for the performer on the second trapeze to come closer to him. He jumped from the pedestal, swinging on the trapeze, and let go to miss the performer entirely and almost miss the net, barely being saved on the edge.

"Oh, I'm so lucky… or maybe not."

**Celeste and Akane**

"Where's Laura Secord?" Celeste asked.

"It's upstairs," the woman said. She and Akane ran upstairs to find the candy shop.

"We have a delivery," Akane said. The cashier nodded as they traded the box for the last part of the clue.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"Hopefully we can make up time at the Roadblock," Akane said.

**Makoto: 4th Attempt**

Makoto swung down, and this time actually landed the leap onto the performer's hands. But his grip was too weak as he slipped out of the performer's hands and onto the net.

**Kaede: 1st Attempt**

"I'm a bit nervous," Kaede said. "I've never done this before."

"None of us have," Shuchi said. "You'll do fine. If you can't, we always have the Express Pass."

Kaede leapt off of the pedestal as she swung and then let go, launching her in the air and almost slamming her against the ceiling before dropping onto the net.

**Hina: 1st Attempt**

Hina got a running start and leapt off the platform only to fall face-first into the net almost immediately.

Chihiro watched her, facepalming.

"_As I was watching her, I realized that she wasn't starting out on the pedestal holding the trapeze. She was letting it dangle, then trying to jump to it." Chihiro explained._

"Come on, Hina!" Chihiro muttered to himself. "Get your head around it!"

**Ibuki: 1st Attempt**

Ibuki gripped the trapeze and screamed as she let go, swinging towards the performer. However, she let go too late and smashed into her head, causing both of them to collapse on the net.

"I'm going to get a concussion at this point," the performer said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Oh my god, everyone's here!" Hajime exclaimed, entering the building. "We can catch up!"

"That's only if you pull this off the quickest," Chiaki said.

**Makoto: 5th Attempt**

Makoto swung downwards, finally making the leap to the hands of the person on the second trapeze. However, he couldn't see while swinging backwards, so he tried to launch himself off back onto the first trapeze and ended up smacking it against his head.

"Come on, Makoto!" Sayaka whispered. "Everyone's catching up!"

**Miu: 5th Attempt**

Miu leapt from her pedestal, and swung down and released at optimal time to connect with the second trapeze for the performer to catch her. The performer swung backwards as Miu let go, turning around and gripping the bar as it brought her back up to the original pedestal.

"Did I do it right?" Miu asked. The judge walked up to her and thrust the clue in the air.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Kazuichi screamed in joy. Miu gripped it, walked down to Kazuichi, and ripped it open as Makoto and Sayaka sadly sat and watched.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Miu read excitedly.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Mount Royal Chalet**

_ **Mount Royal is Montreal's namesake, and one of the most famous places in Montreal. It will now be the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here, may be eliminated!** _

"I can't believe we're in first for once!" Kazuichi said.

"Y-you didn't believe in me?"

"N-no? Yes? I don't know how to answer that question."

**Hina: 2nd Attempt**

"Wait, can I just hold the bar right here?" Hina asked, gripping the bar. The instructor nodded as Hina facepalmed. "Okay, that makes this easier…"

Hina jumped off the platform and swung towards the performer. She let go just as the performer was approaching, successfully clinging onto her. She swung backwards, flipped, then landed on the original trapeze, swinging back to the platform.

The judge raised the clue. "Good job!" he shouted.

"EEEEE!" Chihiro screeched, as Hina ran down to get the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"How did she do it so easily?" Makoto asked.

"She's an athlete." Sayaka replied. "It's fine. Just get it done."

**Ibuki: 2nd Attempt**

Ibuki jumped from the platform, but somehow broke the swing.

"Er, you're going to have to pay for that," the instructor said.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 8th Place**

"I can do this," Tenko said. They walked inside as Makoto buried his face into his hands.

"I'm going to lose this for us," Makoto groaned.

**Nagito: 4th Attempt**

Nagito landed back at the platform as the judge handed him the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Wow, Nagito, I'm impressed!" Nekomaru said.

"Ha! I'm impressed too! It's hard to believe that scum like me could do something so elegantly!"

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"Here it is!" Hiro said, running inside.

**Celeste and Akane**

"There's Hiro and Rantaro!" Akane pointed out.

"At least we have those… idiots that we can catch up to."

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in 9th Place**

"We're near last," Rantaro said. "I'll do it."

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"We're at a circus, right?" Akane asked. "If so, it's all me."

**Hajime: 2nd Attempt**

Hajime swung and smacked against the performer's head.

"God dammit!" the performer cursed. "I'm going to lose my damn memory!"

"I'm not enjoying this more than you are," Hajime replied, rubbing his head.

**Tenko: 1st Attempt**

Tenko ran from the pedestal onto the trapeze, but that built up too much momentum as she was flung too far and ended up falling outside of the net.

"Ack!" she shouted, gripping her leg.

"What's wrong?" Himiko asked, running up to her.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a scrape."

**Makoto: 9th Attempt**

Makoto jumped down, almost immediately slipping off.

"My hands are getting sore, and calloused, and I don't know what to do!" Makoto pouted.

"Come on!" Sayaka encouraged. "You can't give up now, can you?"

**Kaede: 5th Attempt**

Kaede leapt back up to the pedestal. "Finally!" she shouted, collapsing to her knees.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"You were great," Shuichi said.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"We could secure a first today," Kazuichi said. "Thanks to you,"

"You better thank me! If it wasn't for me, we could be eliminated!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Is that Miu and Kazuichi's cab?" Hina asked.

"I don't think so," Chihiro replied.

* * *

The cab pulled up as Miu and Kazuichi raced to the Pit Stop mat.

"Miu and Kazuichi," Monokuma said. "You are team number ONE!"

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st Place**

Kazuichi went in for a hug as Miu awkwardly blushed with a somewhat aroused look on her face. Kazuichi saw this and pushed her away from him, somewhat disgusted.

"To be fair, I never expected you to win a leg," Monokuma said. "Anyways, I am proud to tell you that you have won five hundred thousand yen, each."

"Yeah!" Kazuichi said, pounding his fist in the air.

"I could make millions of world-changing inventions with that cash!" Miu said.

"We've got our second team coming in now," Monokuma said, pointing to Chihiro and Hina, running in from their cabs.

"Chihiro and Hina, you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"We were so close!" Hina said. "Tomorrow, we'll take the gold!"

**Rantaro: 1st Attempt**

Rantaro stepped off the platform, but was unable to get enough momentum to get close to the

**Akane: 1st Attempt**

Akane swung back up to the pedestal. "And… scene!"

"Congratulations!" the judge said, handing Akane the clue.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in 5th Place**

"Come on, Akane. Let's go."

**Hajime: 4th Attempt**

Hajime nervously leapt from the pedestal and finally stuck the landing to the performer. The performer swung Hajime back to the original trapeze, allowing Hajime to swing back up to the pedestal, then fall off the other side.

"Meh, good enough for me!" the judge said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste and Akane ran outside and ran up to Hajime and Chiaki's cab.

"Oh, I'm waiting," the driver said.

"We will pay you to leave," Celeste said. "We will cover the bill so you can leave here."

"But what about my passengers?"

"Leave them. I will cover the bill."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"What the fuck are you two doing?" Hajime asked. He ran up to Celeste and pushed her out of the way. Hajime leaned into the driver. "What were they doing?"

"They were trying to get me to leave," he said.

Hajime stared at Celeste. "You've got some nerve. Come on, Chiaki, let's go."

They got into the cab as Celeste rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe they tried to sabotage us a second time!" Hajime pouted.

"Hajime-"

"No. It's not okay. I want them out."

**Tenko: 4th Attempt**

Tenko collided with the performer, this time knocking both of them off the net and onto the padded floor.

"Oh, come on!" the performer raged. "Why does everyone…"

**Ibuki: 7th Attempt**

"Woohoo!" Ibuki shouted, swinging back onto the platform. The judge handed her the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 7th Place**

"Alright, Ibuki, let's get out of here!"

* * *

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled their bags out of the trunk of the cab before running to the mat.

"Nagito and Nekomaru, you are team number three."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 3rd Place**

Shuichi and Kaede came up right after them, jumping on the mat.

"Shuichi and Kaede, you are team number four."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 4th Place**

Kaede looked at Nagito and Nekomaru.

"Well, you two beat us this time!" Kaede said.

**Makoto**

"_By that time, doing this challenge was literal torture. My hands were blistered, my arms were giving out, I just felt like it wasn't something that I was capable of doing."_

"Come on, Makoto! Don't give up!" Sayaka shouted.

"I need a break," Makoto replied, taking a swig of water and dousing the rest on his head.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number five."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 5th Place**

Celeste and Akane came running in after them as Hajime rolled his eyes.

"Celeste and Akane, you are team number six."

**Celeste and Akane: 6th Place**

Hajime sighed.

"What's wrong?" Monokuma asked. "Want to explain any tension between you four?"

"Celeste is just…" Hajime said. "She's been sabotaging us all day. Playing dirty."

"I didn't come here to make friends or be all buddy-buddy," Celeste argued. "I came here to win. And I'll do whatever it takes to get it. Even if I have to push around a filthy Reserve student"

Chiaki and Akane stood awkwardly to either side of their partners as Hajime glared at her.

"Okay, if it makes you happy… _I'm sorry_." Celeste said.

"_That apology doesn't satisfy me," Hajime explained. "They messed with the wrong student. I'm seeking revenge."_

**Tenko: 8th Attempt**

Tenko swung back towards the pedestal, sticking the landing.

"You passed," the judge said, handing Tenko the clue as Makoto stared at her in frustration.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 8th Place**

"Let's get out of here, Himiko, before the degenerates catch up!"

**Rantaro: 6th Attempt**

Rantaro hit the performer, knocking them down to the net and banging heads against each other.

"Fuck this, I'm done," the performer said, walking off the net and towards the door, but accidentally missing and walking into the wall due to vertigo and head injuries.

"We'll get a new performer in soon, don't worry," the instructor said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Leon and Ibuki, you are team number seven."

**Leon and Ibuki: 7th Place**

"We're still in it!" Leon said, hi-fiving Ibuki, then almost going into a hug but then awkwardly saved himself when Ibuki just stood there.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko raced up to the Pit Stop mat.

"Tenko and Himiko, you are team number eight."

**Tenko and Himiko: 8th Place**

"Bagels are the death of us," Tenko said.

**Makoto: 21st Attempt**

Makoto sighed and put hands to his face. He had to get this. He took a break, drank a bucketload of water, he should be refreshed at this point.

Makoto gripped the bar and stepped off the platform, and swung and released to be caught by the new performer. The new performer tossed him back at the swinging trapeze as it was coming back, allowing Makoto to grip the trapeze and just barely make it back onto the starting platform.

"It's about time!" the judge said, handing up the clue. Hiro stared at them as Makoto went in for a hug.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 9th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, Mount Royal Chalet." Sayaka read.

"I'm sorry, Sayaka." Makoto said.

"Don't worry about it. I doubt I'd do better."

**Rantaro: 7th Attempt**

Rantaro made his way up to his platform from the swing as the judge thrust the clue in his face.

**Hiro and Rantaro: Currently in Last Place**

"We can catch up to them. They left less than a minute ago," Hiro said.

"Sorry I didn't do so well," Rantaro apologized.

"No, no, it's fine. I would've done worse."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"I think I see them behind us," Sayaka said, turning around to scan the highway. "Never mind."

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"You see that cab up ahead?" Rantaro asked, pointing forward. "You need to pass that cab."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"We're pulling up," Makoto said. "Hopefully they didn't somehow beat us here."

**Hiro and Rantaro**

"I see Monokuma," Hiro said.

* * *

Monokuma waited as Makoto and Sayaka raced up to them, and hopped on the mat.

"Makoto and Sayaka," he trailed. "Do you know what place you're in?"

"Hopefully ninth?" Sayaka asked. Monokuma stayed silent.

"Well?" Makoto asked.

"You're right. You are team number NINE, and you are still racing."

Makoto pulled in Sayaka for a hug.

"You were first leaving the Detour, what happened?"

"I guess that I'm just not good at acrobatics." Makoto said. "I will never see another circus in my life."

* * *

"Hiro and Rantaro," Monokuma said. "You are the last team to arrive."

"But we're still racing!" Hiro said, pointing at Monokuma hopefully. "This is a non-elimination leg? We're not going home?"

"I'm sorry, but this is an elimination leg. I'm sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Hiro and Rantaro: Eliminated**

"Damn," Rantaro said, looking down.

"_We were kind of doomed from the start," Rantaro said. "The two people that everyone else steered clear from."_

"_I can't say I'm surprised," Hiro said. "But the downfall wasn't my fault. I'm not the reason we lost. Take that, Byakuya!"_

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Miu and Kazuichi

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Nagito and Nekomaru

4th: Shuichi and Kaede

5th: Hajime and Chiaki

6th: Celeste and Akane

7th: Leon and Ibuki

8th: Tenko and Himiko

9th: Makoto and Sayaka

**Eliminated: Hiro and Rantaro**

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.50

Nagito and Nekomaru: 2.50

Miu and Kazuichi: 4.50

Leon and Ibuki: 5.00

Chihiro and Hina: 5.50

Hajime and Chiaki: 6.00

Makoto and Sayaka: 6.50

Tenko and Himiko: 6.50

Celeste and Akane: 8.00

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Miu 2, Kazuichi 1

Chihiro 1, Hina 2

Nagito 2, Nekomaru 1

Shuichi 1, Kaede 2

Hajime 2, Chiaki 1

Celeste 1, Akane 2

Leon 1, Ibuki 2

Tenko 2, Himiko 1

Makoto 2, Sayaka 1

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Teams must play to their limits when they face a Double U-Turn in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


	5. Leg 3.1

**Leg 3.1**

* * *

**Before I start, I want to say that from now on, I will be using fictional locations when I want teams to visit a private place like a certain restaurant or a certain shop. It's hard to research locations like these, and I don't want to give them additional advertising lol. Famous or public locations will still be the same in the real world.**

* * *

_ **This is Mount Royal, the namesake mountain of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. This majestic mountain will now serve as the starting point for leg 3 of the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition.** _

_ **Miu and Kazuichi will depart first at 2:37 AM.** _

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st to depart, 2:37 AM**

"Where do you think we're going next?" Miu asked.

"Hopefully somewhere cold… I never thought Canada would be this hot." Kazuichi replied.

Miu ripped the clue. "Ha! Looks like you're going to suffer more! Fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!"

"why"

**[i] Fly to: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

_ **Teams must now leave the old Canadian city of Montreal and fly over 8,000 miles to their next destination: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once they touch down in Rio, teams must find these marked cars in the airport parking lot and drive themselves to Christ the Redeemer where they will pick a number. That number will dictate their departure time in the following morning.** _

"Warning: Double U-Turn Ahead. Heh. Like anyone's going to U-turn this bod of mine. Then again, your face might just neutralize it."

"Hey! Ugh… why do I even bother. Anyways, I can't believe we're going to somewhere that hot," Kazuichi griped.

"Don't get your panties in a twist! We're going to smoke this leg like we did yesterday!"

"_Yesterday, we came in first!" Kazuichi said. "Hopefully we can keep up that winning streak."_

"_It's all thanks to me, of course," Miu said._

Miu and Kazuichi threw their backpacks into the back of their cab and slammed the trunk.

"I-I don't do well with heat," Kazuichi said.

"Then take off your clothes!"

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd to depart: 2:39 PM**

"Fly to Rio!" Hina read. She smiled and began bouncing up and down.

"Rio de Janeiro, huh?" Chihiro asked. "It's going to be so hot there!"

"I've always wanted to go to Rio," Hina said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 3rd to depart: 2:56 PM**

"Rio, huh?" Nekomaru asked. "Guess I'll finally get to see you take off that jacket of yours."

"I will wear this jacket on a tropical island if I have to."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu paid the driver as they stepped out of the cab and rushed into the airport.

"Hi, we need tickets to Rio de Janeiro, as soon as possible, please."

The woman at the counter typed a few things on her computer. "We have one flight on Air Canada, which leaves at 7:00 AM and arrives at 9:15 PM."

"That's the only flight, right?" Kazuichi asked.

"That's correct," the woman said, handing Kazuichi the tickets.

"Dammit, well there goes our fuckin' lead! This is all your fault!"

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

After everyone had rendezvoused at the terminal, the teams began to strike up a conversation.

"What do you think we're going to do in Rio?" Chihiro asked.

"Ooh! Hopefully swimming!" Hina cheered.

"Oh, no." Celeste said. "No one here will ever see me in a swimsuit. No one."

"Like we'd want to see a disgusting zombie like you in a bikini." Miu said.

"I'd rather be a 'disgusting zombie' than a blonde bimbo."

"D-did you just call me a blonde bimbo? Hnngh..." Miu said, aroused and blushing.

"This is what I've had to put up with for the past three days," Kazuichi sighed.

"I pity you," Makoto consoled.

"A-Anyways," Nagito said. "We've got a U-turn coming up. Anyone piss off anyone else enough to use it?"

"What's a U-turn again?" Hina asked. "I remember reading it in the pamphlet they gave us before the race, but I don't think Monokuma mentioned it at all, and I kind of forgot."

"It's a device that we can use to sabotage someone behind us." Chiaki explained. "It's placed directly after the Detour. Two teams can choose to U-turn two other teams and, once those U-turned teams arrive at the U-turn board, they will have to go back and complete the side of the Detour they didn't originally go through with before they can continue."

"That's quite powerful…" Tenko trailed. "Hopefully no one uses it."

"I don't think anyone's got too much tension," Ibuki said, just as the cameras honed in on Hajime and Celeste. "But then again, it's also a good tool to use to get out competition."

Everyone looked at Nagito and Nekomaru, as well as Kaede and Shuichi.

"I don't think we should be talking about sabotaging each other in front of the people we're probably going to sabotage," Hajime said. "Why don't we just leave it be and face it when the time is right?"

"If you U-turn us and we survive, you're not getting our Express Pass," Kaede said with a stern face.

"Ha ha…" Tenko awkwardly laughed. "Let's change the subject. Two degenerates went home yesterday, correct?"

"Yeah," Chihiro said. "Hiro and Rantaro."

"They were pretty doomed from the start," Makoto said. "The fact that neither of them were picked or got to pick their partners just shows. I'm not familiar with Rantaro, but Hiro's… not the brightest."

"Makoto, he's still our classmate!" Sayaka scolded.

"Yeah… I know. But the dude spent a million on an 'unbreakable' crystal ball once. Then broke it."

"Oh, there was that one time where Hiro fell _up _a flight of stairs! I don't even know how he did that!" Hina said. Everyone, even Celeste began giggling at the stories.

"He invited me into his room last week for an issue with his computer." Chihiro said. "He placed his phone on the table and threw his glass of orange juice he was drinking onto his bed."

"Okay, are we just going to roast Hiro?" Shuichi asked. "Are we just going to make fun of him for the rest of this period? Right after he left with some of his dreams possibly crushed?"

Miu scratched her nose. "Yes."

* * *

**Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport: 9:17 PM**

Every team ran out into the airport's parking lot.

"Marked cars, marked cars," Chiaki repeated. "Here it is!"

Each team got into their respective cars and began driving off.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"You have the map printouts right?" Hajime asked, in the driver's seat.

"Of course," Chiaki replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon pulled out of the parking lot as Ibuki fumbled around with the map.

"This bombtastic map says you have to turn right."

"On it, Ibuksters."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Kazuichi took off his yellow jumpsuit and was now just wearing a white t-shirt and shorts. "It's not as hot as I thought..."

"Get your mind off the fucking heat and tell me which direction to go!" Miu scolded.

"Oh, erm… left."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Y'know I've been here on a performance once." Sayaka said. "It's an amazing city, but I don't think nighttime does it justice."

Makoto kept his eyes on the road. "What do you think we're going to do about the U-Turn?"

"Eh, unless we're the second to last team there, I don't think we should use it at all. We're on good terms with the rest of the racers, and I don't want to screw that up." Sayaka said.

"We made a deal with Ibuki and Leon yesterday," Makoto said. "Hopefully they stick with our informal alliance and don't U-turn us. We won't U-turn them no matter what."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Okay, Himiko, you have to actually pay attention because you're giving me directions," Tenko said.

"I know… nyeh… you have to turn left here."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We're going to a giant, T-posing statue!" Ibuki cheered.

"I think I see it up ahead!" Leon said, "Now… parking…"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled into their parking space as they grabbed their bags and ran up to the statue.

"Pick a number!" Nagito shouted, looking at nine tags on a board, each with a different departure time in the morning. Nagito ripped tag number 1.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st Departure Time, 9:30 AM Departure**

"We're the first ones here," Nekomaru said. "We'll leave first. It looks like we'll have a 5 minute jump on the next team."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina got out of their cab just as Celeste and Akane pulled up.

"Go, go go!" Hina shouted, as Chihiro ran. Celeste and Akane almost caught up, but Chihiro reached the board first. However, Celeste shoved Chihiro to the ground to grab the second tab.

**Celeste and Akane: 2nd Departure Time, 9:35 AM Departure**

"What the hell?" Hina asked, confronting Celeste.

"What?" Celeste asked.

"Why'd you push me?" Chihiro asked.

"I didn't push you," Celeste said.

"It's literally on camera for the world to see!" Hina shouted.

"Alright, alright, it's over and done with. We can't change anything." Akane said.

"At least apologize!" Hina confronted.

Celeste and Akane turned around and ran back towards their cars.

"_Like I said, I will do anything I can to win." Celeste said._

Hina pulled Chihiro up from the ground and pulled tag 3.

**Chihiro and Hina: 3rd Departure Time, 9:40 AM Departure**

"We're definitely going to U-turn them." Hina rambled.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 4th Departure Time, 9:45 AM Departure**

"Fourth? Not too bad," Hajime said. "We could've done better."

"_I thought we would do better on this race so far," Chiaki said. "But so far, we've kind of been a middle-of-the-pack kind of team. We've just been doing… average. We want to fix that."_

* * *

Each team had pulled their respective tags and had camped out by their cars in the parking lot.

"Hey, hey, Chihiro," Chiaki said, pulling him behind their car and out of sight of the other teams.

"Oh, hi, Chiaki." Chihiro replied. "What's up?"

"I overheard you having a little… scuffle with Celeste earlier."

"She pushed me to get the tag first."

"Yeah… Hajime and I want to… U-turn them. We felt like we might need some help… maybe."

"Oh, certainly. If Celeste wants to play dirty, we'll play dirty against them."

"If we can't get to the board first, you guys should U-turn them."

"Got it."

They walked back around to the group and eyed Celeste and Akane.

"Good luck." Chihiro whispered.

* * *

After a night camping out by their cars, the sun rose over the sky of Rio de Janeiro as the teams approached the statue for their starting times.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st to depart, 9:30 AM**

A mailman handed the first clue of the morning to Nagito and Nekomaru. Nekomaru ripped their clue and read it right there. "Detour. On the Sand or On the Turf?"

**[D] On the Sand**

_ **Copacabana Beach is one of Rio de Janeiro's most famous attractions. In On the Sand, teams must use a brochure to recreate a beach setup. Once they have perfectly replicated the image in the brochure, teams will receive their next clue.** _

**[D] On the Turf**

_ **Soccer is one of Brazil's most popular sports. In fact, Brazil has won the most FIFA World Cups than any other nation. In this Detour, teams must travel to Maracana Stadium. Once they arrive, each team member must score a goal from the half-way line against a professional goalkeeper. Once both team members have scored a goal in one session, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"I think we should do the soccer challenge," Nekomaru said. "The On the Sand looks very nitpicky."

"Yeah, I agree, there are so many things that could go wrong."

Nagito walked up to a nearby tourist. "Excuse me, could you tell me where Maracana Stadium is?"

The tourist whipped out his phone. "Maracana stadium?"

He typed a few things as he googled the location, while Nagito stood taking notes.

"Alright, thank you! Let's go!" Nagito shouted, hopping into their car. Nekomaru took the wheel as Nagito directed him. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be good at soccer, but I can hope."

**Celeste and Akane: 2nd to depart, 9:35 AM**

"Detour. On the Sand or On the Turf?"

"I'm not very athletic…" Celeste said. "Let's do On the Sand."

"Eh… fine." Akane said.

**Chihiro and Hina: 3rd to depart, 9:40 AM**

"On the Sand!" Hina said. "I've been itching to get at least close to water."

"Alright, let's go!" Chihiro replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We're hitting every green light," Nagito said. "After Leg 1's bad luck, I'm bound to get some extremely good luck to balance it out."

"Yeah!" Nekomaru shouted. "With your good luck and our skill, we're bound to win this leg!"

**Celeste and Akane**

"Are you sure you're going the right way?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Celeste replied.

"This looks like a shady part of town."

"I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 4th to depart, 9:45 AM**

"Do you want to do the soccer?" Hajime asked.

"I know you can probably handle it… I'm not that fit though."

"You know what? Let's just do the beach display." Hajime replied.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 5th to depart, 9:50 AM**

"Let's do On the Sand," Sayaka said. "We're not that physical."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nekomaru pulled up the car at the stadium as they got out.

"Where's the entrance?" Nekomaru asked, running.

"Over here!" Nagito shouted. Nekomaru turned around and bolted to Nagito, who entered the stadium.

"Hello, are you here for the race?" The soccer instructor asked.

"Uh, yeah." Nagito replied.

"You two need to get dressed into your uniforms. There are dressing rooms out and to your left."

**Kaede and Shuichi: 6th to depart, 9:55 AM**

"Let's do On the Sand," Kaede said. "Detective and Pianist doesn't equal sports."

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste pulled up to the beach as she and Akane ran out to the sand. "We need to find the marked spots," Celeste said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There's Celeste and Akane!" Chihiro said. "We made up those five minutes!"

"Let's get ahead of them!" Hina replied.

**Celeste and Akane**

"There's the marked spot!" Akane said, running up to the set of beach chairs and umbrellas.

"Are you here for the race?" a judge said.

"Yes."

"You need to put on a swimsuit first."

Celeste put her hands on her head. "Do we have to?"

"Yes."

"W-what kind of swimsuit is it?"

The judge held up a set of two black bikinis.

"Umm… no. Let's switch." Celeste said.

"Oh, come on!" Akane replied. "We're already here!"

"I said before! I'm not putting on a swimsuit!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

They raced onto the beach to see Celeste arguing with Akane.

"What's that about?" Chihiro asked.

"Don't worry about it." Hina replied. "Let's just focus."

They ran up to the judge and grabbed the suits. "Come on, let's go to the changing tents." Hina said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 7th to depart, 10:00 AM**

"We're doing On the Turf," Kazuichi said. "It's more straightforward."

"Alright, fine," Miu replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

After each of them had gotten changed into soccer uniforms, each of them had stepped out onto the field.

"Alright, let's get ready!" Nagito said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st Attempt**

Nagito was up first. He stood right in front of the ball as he kicked it, causing it to a forty-five degree angle from him and away from the goal. However, it smacked against the wall at the side of the field, causing it to rebound back towards the goal, smack the goalkeeper in the face, and fly into the goal.

"Holy shit!" Nekomaru said. "I knew your luck was good, but I didn't think it would do… that."

Nagito simply smiled. "Hopefully you can pull it off."

Nekomaru stood and kicked the ball straight at the goal. The goalkeeper immediately caught it.

"SHIT!" He shouted.

"Nekomaru… I have to say I'm disappointed."

**Tenko and Himiko: 8th to depart, 10:05 AM**

"We could totally beat those degenerates at soccer!" Tenko said, pumping her fists.

"Nyeh… I'd probably lose. Whatever. I'll try."

**Celeste and Akane**

"I am not showing off my body!" Celeste said. "Let's just switch! We're wasting our time!"

"Fine! But if you do badly at the soccer, I'm not going to let you switch back to this."

"Okay!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Each of them got dressed into their swimsuits as they stepped out onto the beach.

"Oh…" Hina said. "I know you're a boy… but it's still awkward to see you without a shirt on."

"Don't worry about that. Let's just focus."

Chihiro picked up the brochure, which displayed a beach umbrella, two beach chairs, a square sandcastle, and a beach table with drinks.

They looked at the conglomerate of objects in front of them. "Where's the umbrella? And the beach chair?" Hina asked.

"I think we have to assemble those."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Who would've thought it would be this hard to find a beach?" Makoto asked, driving through town.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Sayaka asked.

"I don't even know anymore."

Makoto pulled up to a red light as he reeled down his window. "Hey," he said, shouting to the man in traffic next to him. "Do you know where Copacabana Beach is?"

"You just need to turn around and then go straight for twenty minutes."

"Thank you!"

"We've been going in this direction for fifteen minutes, though." Sayaka said.

**Kaede and Shuichi**

They ran across the hot sand and saw Chihiro and Hina working on their spot while Hajime and Chiaki escaped into the changing rooms.

"Why does Chihiro have her shirt off? And is wearing… swim trunks?" Shuichi asked.

Kaede smacked him. "Don't look at other topless girls!"

Shuichi blushed. "Uhh.."

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste and Akane pulled up to the stadium and ran inside.

"You have to get dressed in uniforms," the soccer player said.

"Fine. As long as they're not that skimpy." Celeste said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Last to depart: 10:10 AM**

"Let's do the beach challenge." Ibuki said. "Ibuki loves the beach!"

"If you say so," Leon replied, putting the clue back in the envelope.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

They got out to the stadium as Miu barreled right into Celeste.

"Watch it!" Celeste said, fumbling with her soccer uniform. "This does not fit with my hair."

Celeste clipped off her pigtails.

"Woah!" Akane said. "That's fake?"

"Heh, makes sense!" Miu shouted. "That explains why it looks so fucking unnatural!"

"Let's just go." Celeste replied, glaring at Miu. She took Akane's hand and walked onto the field.

"What was that?" Kazuichi asked.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina began working on assembling the umbrella while Chihiro tried to put up the beach chair. She took the center pole and began inserting the smaller, supporting poles up on top.

"Chihiro, do you have the top of the umbrella? Like, the fabric?"

"Oh, the canopy?" Chihiro asked. "It's right here."

Chihiro threw the canopy to Hina, who caught it. Hina stabbed the bottom of the umbrella pole into the sand and used a nearby stepladder to try and secure the canopy to the top.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 2nd Attempt**

Nagito kicked the ball again, but wasn't able to get as lucky as he was the first time. The goalkeeper caught it.

"Dammit." he silently said.

**Celeste and Akane: 1st Attempt**

Akane kicked the ball, which immediately rebounded off the side of the goalpost into the net.

"Alright, Celeste. You better get this."

Celeste kicked the ball, but it stopped before it reached the goal and the goalkeeper just stood there.

"That was pathetic," Akane said.

"I am trying my best."

"No, you're not!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki worked together to assemble the two beach chairs. "Alright, that's done," Hajime said. "You work on the umbrella, I'll work on the sandcastle and the table."

Chiaki nodded as she pulled up a stepstool and began working on the umbrella.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Finally!" Makoto said, exiting the car to get to the beach.

"That took way too long," Sayaka said.

"I'm sorry." Makoto dramatically put on sunglasses.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Himiko, you look so cute!" Tenko said, staring at Himiko in the soccer outfit.

"Nyeh… these shoes are uncomfortable… and I miss my hat."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st Attempt**

Kazuichi kicked the ball as it immediately got caught by the goalie.

"You had one job, Soda!" Miu scolded.

**Tenko and Himiko: 1st Attempt**

Tenko charged at the ball and kicked it as it barely got past the goalkeeper.

"Yes!" Tenko shouted. "Go knock it out of the park, Himiko!"

Himiko also charged only to trip and fall right in front of the ball. "Nyeh… what a pain."

Himiko stood up and kicked the ball, which slowed to a roll by the time it reached the goalkeeper who simply kicked it away.

"That's alright, Himiko!" Tenko gushed. "You'll get it next time!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Chiaki laid the canopy over the umbrella, fastening it to the side of the poles. Meanwhile, Hajime used the circular bucket to scoop up some wet sand from near the water and tried to get it to form a sandcastle.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi was on the stepladder, fastening the poles to the center of the umbrella, when he slipped and fell onto the sand.

"Shuichi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro laid out the two cups onto the table and poured juice into each of them. Hina, meanwhile, used the square bucket to make the sandcastle.

"Can we get a check?" Hina asked. The judge walked up to the display. Looking at the brochure, and Chihiro and Hina's display, the judge handed them a clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Oh my god!" Hina shouted, grabbing the clue and ripping it open. "Make your way to the Escadaria Selarón for your next clue."

**[i] Proceed to: Escadaria Selarón**

"Regardless of which side of the Detour you picked, you must wear your new clothes for the rest of the leg." Hina read.

"Are we in first?" Chihiro asked.

"We're definitely the first from this Detour. I don't know how fast the other Detour is."

"Running around a city in a swimsuit makes me uncomfortable," Chihiro said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki ran out onto the beach as Chihiro and Hina ran towards them.

"Are you done?" Ibuki asked.

"Yeah. It's real simple," Hina replied, running back towards the cars.

"Did Chihiro have her shirt off?" Ibuki asked.

"Oh, yeah. She's a guy."

"Say whaaaat?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 3rd Attempt**

"Am I allowed to get a running start?" Nagito asked.

"As long as the ball stays on the middle line." the soccer player said. Nagito ran backwards, got a running start, and shot it directly into the goal before the soccer player could react.

Nekomaru was up, as he also got a running start, and kicked it right at the goal. The soccer player reached out his hand, but it grazed his hand and tore through the back of the net.

"GOAL!" the soccer instructor said, handing Nagito the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to the Escadaria Selarón for your next clue," Nagito read. "You must wear your new outfits for the rest of the leg."

"At least I like this soccer gear, haha!" Nekomaru proudly laughed.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Can we get a check?" Hajime asked. The judge walked up to them, and compared the brochure image to what was right in front of him. Hajime and Chiaki's sandcastle was circular, while the brochure was square.

"I'm sorry, but it's not like the brochure." the judge said. Hajime put his hand above his head.

"What's wrong?" Hajime asked, backing up to stare at the brochure and the setup at the same angle.

**Celeste and Akane: 2nd Attempt**

Celeste got a running start and kicked the ball with enough force. However, it was enough of an angle that it smacked against the edge of the goal and rebounded outwards.

"Dammit!" Celeste said, quickly getting agitated.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Can we get a check? Kaede asked.

The judge walked up and looked at the display. Shuichi and Kaede's umbrella was positioned straight upwards, but the umbrella in the image was tilted slightly to the left.

"I'm sorry, it's not like the image." the judge said.

Kaede looked at their set up and then looked at the brochure. "It's exactly the same!"

**Miu and Kazuichi: 2nd Attempt**

Kazuichi actually kicked the ball with enough force to get it into the net before the goalkeeper could react. Miu kicked it afterwards, as the goalkeeper missed it and it rolled into the goal.

"GOAL!" the soccer player said, handing Miu and Kazuichi the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to the Escadaria Selarón for your next clue!" Kazuichi read. "You must wear your outfits for the rest of the leg."

"Oh, we can see the other chicks in swimsuits probably!" Kazuichi said, excitedly. "If only Miss Sonia survived this long!"

"A-are you not excited to see m-me in a swimsuit?' Miu asked, on the verge of crying.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina got out of their cab and ran up the colorful Selaron Steps to the very top, where the U-Turn board laid, built into the back wall and made of tile.

"There's the U-Turn board!" Chihiro pointed.

_ **Two teams now have the opportunity to U-Turn two other teams and force them to go back and complete the side of the detour that they chose not to complete, with a U-Turn.** _

Hina opened the box and went through it to find Celeste and Akane's pictures. "There we go. We choose to U-Turn Celeste and Akane."

Hina placed the picture on a hook on the wall, then placed Hina and Chihiro's picture underneath it in the 'Courtesy Of' section.

**U-Turn x2**

**Celeste and Akane**

**\- Courtesy of Chihiro and Hina**

**[Empty Space]**

**\- [Empty Space]**

"Sorry, girls," Hina said. "You messed with the wrong people."

Chihiro grabbed the nearby clue. "Route Info. Make your way to the Theatro Municipal for your next clue."

**[i] Proceed to: Theatro Municipal**

"If they survive this leg, we're screwed." Hina said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Are our beach chairs in the wrong angle?"

Hajime adjusted them and turned them a bit. "Can we get a check?"

"Sorry, it's not correct." the judge said. Hajime put his hands behind his head and squatted as Chiaki bit her nail.

"What could we be doing wrong?" Chiaki asked.


	6. Leg 3.2

** Leg 3.2 **

* * *

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto poured the beverages in the red and the blue cups and laid them down at the table.

"Can we get a check please?" Sayaka asked. The judge walked up, inspected everything, and handed them a clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 4th Place**

"Come on! Let's go!" Makoto shouted.

"I know I'm an idol, and I've already done some… naughty things, but I'm not keen on running around a city in just a bikini!"

"We have to. We won't see any of these people ever again, so it'll be fine." Makoto encouraged. "Good thing Hifumi couldn't make the cut, huh?"

"Yeah… that could've been bad."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"They got it?" Hajime asked.

"Don't focus on them, Hajime," Chiaki said. "Let's just focus on ourselves."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi glanced at the image, then at their display. Then, back to the image, then back to the display. He grabbed the umbrella and tilted it away from the chairs.

"Can we get a check please?" Shuichi asked.

The judge walked up to them and handed them a clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"I can't believe that was the issue," Kaede said.

"Don't dwell on it too much," Shuichi replied.

**Tenko and Himiko: 3rd Attempt**

Tenko kicked the ball into the goal as she stepped aside for Himiko to kick it.

"Alright, Himiko! Just get a running start to build up momentum!"

"Nyeh… I don't like running."

She backed up, then sprinted at the ball to kick it right past the goalkeeper's head.

"GOAL!"

The soccer player handed Tenko the clue.

"You were amazing, Himiko!"

"Nyeh… it wasn't that impressive."

Tenko ignored her remark and ripped the clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 6th Place**

"Let's get outta here!" Tenko shouted.

Meanwhile, Celeste and Akane stared at them, sitting on the turf.

"We should've just stayed at the beach," Akane said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito huffed as they climbed the stairs. "Damn, this is a tall staircase."

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"Erm… I'm fine."

They reached the top of the staircase to see Celeste and Akane's faces on the U-Turn board.

"I didn't expect anyone to use that," Nekomaru said. "We choose not to U-turn anyone."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to the Theatro Municipal." Nagito read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki fumbled around with the beach chair as Leon struggled to make a sandcastle.

"How do people do this?" Leon asked. "It's just piling up."

"Did you use water?" Ibuki asked.

"Fuck."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime checked each piece of the chair and umbrella. "We've got everything! What's wrong?"

Chiaki walked around, then reversed as she stared at the sandcastle. "Was the sandcastle in the image circular?"

Hajime looked at the image. "Oh."

**Celeste and Akane: 4th Attempt**

Celeste kicked the ball as it went at a forty-five degree angle away from the goal.

"How do you even mess that up so bad?" Akane asked.

"Shut up."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime obliterated the old sandcastle and made a new one with the square bucket. "Can we get a check?"

"It's good," the judge said, handing Hajime the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"I can't believe that was the only thing wrong…" Hajime sighed.

"That's no problem. Just read the clue."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hina, don't you think this drive is a little too long?" Chihiro asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like we're not going in the right direction."

"This is the direction that nice Brazilian man gave us."

"To be fair… neither of us speak Portuguese."

"You mean Spanish?"

"No… Brazil speaks Portuguese."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu climbed up the stairs with little to no reaction while Kazuichi limped up. "Why… do I have to do stairs..?"

"Oh, suck it up, dickwad!"

Miu basically dragged Kazuichi up the last few steps to reach the U-Turn board.

"Huff… do you want to U-turn anyone?" Kazuichi asked.

"Not in particular… but I don't really mind attacking someone else."

"We shouldn't make enemies… Celeste and Akane got U-turned so I feel that's enough." Kazuichi said. He reached for the clue and ripped it.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to the Theatro Municipal." Kazuichi read.

**Celeste and Akane: 6th Attempt**

Celeste ran and kicked the ball, which soared past the goalkeeper's head and got caught in the net.

"Finally!" Celeste said. "Now, don't screw this up."

"I got this, I got this." Akane said. She kicked her ball, which rebounded off the goalie's head and hit the net.

"GOOOOAAALL!" the soccer player shouted, handing Akane their clue.

"That took waay too long." Akane said. Celeste shot her a glaring look as she ripped open the clue.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in 8th Place**

"Make your way to the Escadaria Selarón for your next clue. Regardless of which side of the Detour you picked, you must wear your new clothes for the rest of the leg."

"Oh…" Celeste said. "I sure am… glad that I don't have to wear that suit for the rest of the day."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki filled the cups and laid them on the table as Leon finally got the square-shaped sandcastle down.

"Can we get a check?" Ibuki asked. The judge walked up and raised their clue in the air.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Let's hope the other Detour took longer," Leon said.

"Ha, ha, we're definitely the last team!" Ibuki sang.

"That's not something you should be happy about!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and China pulled up in front of the theater and parked their car.

"Wow… I guess his directions were right… though we probably took a detour." Chihiro said.

"The clue box is right there!" Hina pointed. They stopped at the box and opened the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to ride the new wave?"

**[R] Bossa Nova**

_ **Bossa Nova is one of the best-known styles of Brazilian music, literally meaning "New Wave". In this Roadblock, one team member must memorize and sing three verses of The Girl from Ipanema solely in Portuguese. If they can keep the beat and tone while also enunciating their words properly, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"I think this is surfing?" Chihiro asked. "Fine. You did the last one, so I'll do this one."

Chihiro opened the clue and saw what it was. "Alright… that's doable… I really hope Shuichi, Makoto and Leon end up doing this though."

Chihiro entered the opera house where a woman took him to the practice room.

"The lyrics are on this sheet right here, and here's an audio clip in these headphones." she said. Chihiro nodded and put on the headphones, following along with the music.

Verse 1

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

_É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar_

Verse 2

_Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?_

_Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?_

_Ah, a beleza que existe_

_A beleza que não é só minha_

_Que também passa sozinha_

Verse 3

_Ah, se ela soubesse_

_Que quando ela passa_

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

"That's a lot to remember for a language I've never heard…" Chihiro said. He began tracing the lyrics along with his fingers while singing the lyrics aloud.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nekomaru pulled up to the opera house and ran to the clue box.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to ride the New Wave?" Nekomaru read.

"It probably has something to do with Bossa Nova, which is music." Nagito said.

"Oh, then you should do this one!" Nekomaru encouraged.

"But I did the last one. We'll be unbalanced!"

"It'll be fine. If it's singing, my voice would cause your eardrums to rupture, ha, ha."

"Can't argue with that."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Oh, Celeste and Akane got U-turned!" Makoto said.

"At least it's not us," Sayaka replied. "We choose not to U-Turn anyone."

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 4th Place**

"Oh, here come Shuichi and Kaede," Makoto said, running down the stairs just as they were running up.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"We choose not to U-Turn anyone," they both said, then they ripped and read their clue.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko was driving as Himiko was holding the map. "Do I turn left?"

"Uhh…" Himiko said. "Right."

Tenko turned right.

"No! I said 'right' as in you were right, we do turn left."

Tenko nervously chuckled. "Sorry, Himiko, my mistake!"

"We're on a one-way road though," Himiko said. Tenko rolled down the window and shouted to a woman in her car. "When's the soonest we can turn around?"

"Around a mile down!"

"Fuck." Tenko silently swore, trying to keep it away from Himiko.

"Wait… hang on.." Himiko said, messing around with the map, flipping it upside down. "Oh, that... makes more sense."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Let's go," Hajime said, parking their car and making their way up the steps to see Celeste and Akane U-Turned.

"Good, they carried out their side of the deal." Chiaki said. "Let's not bother. Just leave it."

"_The rule with U-turns is that there are normally two or three on the entire race. But, we're only allowed to use a U-turn once. If we were to U-turn another team, we wouldn't be able to U-turn someone else later on." Chiaki explained. "Not that we wanted to. We wanted Celeste and Akane to go home. We didn't feel like giving them an extra chance."_

Hajime reached for the clue and ripped it.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way to the Theatro Municipal for your next clue," Hajime read.

**Ibuki and Leon**

"We're definitely in last," Leon said, at the wheel. "Hopefully we don't get U-turned."

"Why would we get U-turned?" Ibuki asked, eyes sparkling. "Everyone loves us!"

"Well… I wouldn't say _love_… but another team could definitely U-turn us to save their own skins."

**Chihiro, Nagito**

Nagito was singing along to the lyrics as he was wearing the headphones as Chihiro was also doing so.

Nagito took off his headphones. "Chihiro, are you a dude?"

"Uhh… yeah? How did you know?"

"You're wearing men's swim trunks and no shirt."

"Oh… I guess I forgot about that."

Nagito's words devolved from talking about his gender to somehow linking it to hope and despair. Chihiro just ignored his ramblings and put his headphones back on.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Who wants to ride the new wave?" Miu read. "It sounds like… surfing?"

"Whatever. I'll do it." Kazuichi said.

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste and Akane climbed the stairs to see their names and faces on the U-Turn board, with Chihiro and Hina's smiling faces underneath.

"Oh, fuck." Akane said. "C-Celeste?"

Celeste was silent, but shaking with anger. "I-I CAN'T BELIEVE THOSE TWO FUCKIN' ASSHOLES U-TURNED US!"

"Calm down!" Akane said. "Let's just U-turn someone else!"

"Fine. Do Leon and Ibuki. They were the last ones to leave today, and did the other Detour. They're the ones who have the highest chance to be behind us."

**U-Turn x2**

**Celeste and Akane**

**\- Courtesy of Chihiro and Hina**

**Leon and Ibuki**

**\- Courtesy of Celeste and Akane**

Akane sighed and placed Leon and Ibuki's picture on the board. "Let's go back to the beach. These cleats are killing me."

Celeste fumed and ranted as they went down the stairs, just as Leon and Ibuki were coming up in swimwear.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Hey girls!" Ibuki shouted. Neither of them made eye contact as they descended.

"That was… weird." Leon said. They soon found out why.

"Ah, shit." Leon said, observing the U-turn board.

"You were right, I guess…" Ibuki said, excitement toned down. "Soccer can't be too hard. Let's just go."

**Celeste and Akane**

"I told you, we should've just stayed at the beach when we had the chance!"

"I didn't want to wear a swimsuit…"

"Well now, you're going to have to do it anyways, and fall behind everyone!"

"Those snakes…"

**Kazuichi**

Kazuichi entered the room to see Chihiro and Nagito practicing. He looked at Chihiro, a bit confused, but ignored it and picked up the headphones and the lyrics.

"Wow, this is a lot!" Kazuichi said. He sat down in a chair and began singing as loud as he could with a screechy voice.

"OOOHHHLLLAAA QUE COISA MAIS LINDA!"

Chihiro and Nagito both stopped practicing and stared at him.

"You sound like a dying whale… you're hopeless" Nagito said.

"I… uhh… " Chihiro stammered

He ignored them and continued.

"OLHA QUE COISA MAIS LINDA MAIS CHEIA DE GRAÇA"

Chihiro whipped off his headphones and left the room to go practice in the hallway. "Okay, that's it, I can't practice with you in the room"

"My singing is fine!" Kazuichi argued.

"No it isn't," Nagito replied.

**Chihiro**

After practicing one more round out in the hall away from Kazuichi (who he could still hear), Chihiro finally decided it was time to go on stage.

**Chihiro: 1st Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

"STOP!" the judge shouted. "You mispronounced 'poema'. You pronounced it 'po-eh-ma', it's pronounced 'po-ee-ma'"

"_The judging for that Roadblock was way too nitpicky," Chihiro explained. "If you were to mess up one single word, or you were to miss a beat, you'd be failed. You had to be precise."_

**Nagito: 1st Attempt**

Nagito waited for Chihiro to get out of the way before stepping on stage, where Nekomaru clapped for him. He waited for the music before he started.

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

"STOP! You're off beat."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Finally," Tenko said, dragging Himiko up the Selaron Steps. They arrived at the U-turn board. "Oh, thank god it's not us. We choose not to U-turn anyone."

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 7th Place**

"Make your way to the Theatro Municipal for your next clue." Himiko read.

**Chihiro: 2nd Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

_É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar_

"STOP! Off beat!"

"Dammit!" Chihiro muttered.

"You got it, Chihiro!" Hina shouted from the audience. "Just keep trying!"

**Kazuichi: 1st Attempt**

Kazuichi walked up to the stage as the music started.

_Olha-_

"STOP!" the judge shouted. "So many things wrong here… off beat, you pronounced it with an english 'h' sound, you need to wait a bit longer before you start, you sound like you're still in puberty… go back to the practice room."

Kazuichi dropped the mic and stormed back to the practice room.

"You had one job, Soda!" Miu shouted from the seats.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

"Roadblock," Makoto read. "Who wants to ride a new wave?"

"I guess I'll do it," Sayaka said. She ripped open the clue and jumped in glee. "Singing!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 6th Place**

"Guys, it's a music challenge!" Makoto shouted.

"Thanks!" Kaede replied. She ripped open the clue as Kaede decided to do it. (of course).

**Leon and Ibuki: 1st Attempt**

They arrived at the soccer field and changed into jerseys and cleats. "Alright, I think I can do this," Leon said. He kicked the ball as it whizzed right past the goalie's hand.

"Alright, Ibuki, your turn!" Leon said. Ibuki kicked the ball, but the goalie headbutted it back.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 7th Place**

"I guess it's my turn…" Chiaki said.

**Sayaka, Kaede, Kazuichi**

Kazuichi was back in the practice room, screeching his head off while both Sayaka and Kaede used their hands to clamp their headphones as close to their ears as possible.

"Okay, okay, Kazuichi!" Sayaka said. "Tip of advice, try to sing quieter. It'll sound better and won't hurt your throat."

"How would you know?"

"I'm an idol?"

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste came out of the changing tent mortified, trying to cover up her chest area. "I-I don't like this."

"Oh, suck it up! The faster you get this done, the less time people will get to see you like this!"

Akane began assembling the umbrella while Celeste began building the sandcastle.

"I don't like this," Celeste said.

"_I had to wear that for the rest of the leg," Celeste explained. "The rest of the leg. That was pure torture."_

**Sayaka: 1st Attempt**

After practicing and a few more failed attempts by Nagito and Chihiro, Sayaka walked up to give it a shot. The music began blaring as Sayaka gripped the microphone.

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

_É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar_

_Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?_

_Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?_

_Ah, a beleza que existe_

_A beleza que não é só minha_

_Que também passa sozinha_

_Ah, se ela soubesse_

_Que quando ela passa_

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

The judge clapped as he handed Sayaka her clue.

"BOM TRABALHO!" the judge shouted.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Sayaka read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Jardim Botânico**

_ **Jardim Botânico is Rio de Janeiro's botanical gardens. It is home to over 6000 species of plants, some endangered. It will now be the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here at the mat may be eliminated!** _

"We could be in first!" Makoto cheered. They ran outside to their cars.

**Celeste and Akane**

Celeste poured the drink into each of the cups as Akane worked on the beach chair.

"This was so much easier," Akane said. "We should've just stayed here."

"Guilting me does nothing to help."

**Leon and Ibuki: 2nd Attempt**

Ibuki kicked the ball, which soared over the goalkeeper's head and went into the goal.

"GOAL!" the judge shouted, handing Leon the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 8th Place**

"We did that fast," Leon said. "Hopefully Celeste and Akane are struggling."

**Kaede: 1st Attempt**

_Que quando ela passa_

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor!_

The judge tossed the clue at Kaede, but it caught the air and fluttered to the ground pathetically. Kaede wasted no time picking it up and ripping it open.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Having a musical talent comes in handy!" Kaede said.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki sat in the practice room as Kazuichi calmed down and was actually singing along to the tune of the song like a normal person.

"Okay, okay," she muttered, tracing her finger along the lyrics as the song blared in her ears.

**Nagito: 4th Attempt**

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

"Nice work!" The judge shouted.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Nagito read.

**Celeste and Akane**

"Can we get a check please?" Akane asked. The judge walked up to their display and handed them a clue.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"Let's hope the rockstars are bad at soccer," Celeste said.

"I doubt it. Leon's very fit."

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 7th Place**

"I'll do it," Himiko said.

"Oh, Himiko, you're so brave!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"That's Makoto and Sayaka up there," Kaede said. "Pass them."

Shuichi sped up their car as they sped past Makoto and Sayaka. Kaede was about to hi-five him, but Shuichi was too responsible and refused to take his hand off the steering wheel.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Was that Shuichi and Kaede?" Sayaka asked.

"I hope not," Makoto replied. He floored the gas pedal as he attempted to catch up to them.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We need parking," Shuichi said, sweating. Kaede was too nervous to respond.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"We've got a space right here! Lucky me!" Makoto said.

* * *

Monokuma awaited the teams at the garden as two figures came rushing in.

"Shuichi and Kaede, I am proud to tell you that you are team number ONE!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Place**

"We landed on the podium again!" Kaede cheered.

"Look how close it was!" Monokuma said, pointing to Makoto and Sayaka running into the garden.

"Makoto and Sayaka, I am proud to tell you that you are team number two."

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd Place**

"Alright, we'll take it!" Makoto said.

"Now, why don't I tell you what Shuichi and Kaede has won that you two have lost?"

"Sure, why not?" Sayaka asked.

"You have won two brand new cars, the exact same kind that you have been driving throughout this leg!"

"That's amazing!" Kaede shouted. Sayaka sniffled for a second, a jealous look on her face.

**Chihiro: 6th Attempt**

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor!_

"Congratulations!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Sorry it took so long!" Chihiro apologized. "Six times!"

"Don't worry about it. We're not eliminated, so it's not a big deal."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Alright, let's head back to the scene of the crime," Ibuki said, climbing the stairs. When they reached the top, they grabbed the clue.

"There's still another clue in there! We're not last!" Leon said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 8th Place**

"Make your way to Theatro Municipal and search for your next clue." Ibuki read. "Theater? Maybe we're singing?"

**Himiko, Chiaki, Kazuichi**

Kazuichi was sweating profusely and kept his hand to the back of his neck.

"I think I'll at least try?" Kazuichi said. He stood up and began walking to the stage.

"Oh. It's you." the judge said.

"What does that mean?"

"Whatever. Just start the music."

**Kazuichi: 2nd Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

They made their way up to the U-turn board and opened the clue box.

"Make your way to Theatro Municipal and search for your next clue."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Nagito and Nekomaru, you are team number three."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 3rd Place**

"We're still aiming for that gold!" Nekomaru said.

"Well, hopefully you'll get it soon."

**Kazuichi**

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

"Wow, you actually did it!" The judge said, handing Kazuichi the clue. He leapt down from the stage and ripped it open with Miu.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop" Miu read. "Took you long enough! What, were you jacking off backstage instead of practicing?"

"My voice isn't made for singing!"

"Clearly."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Chihiro and Hina, you are team number four."

**Chihiro and Hina: 4th Place**

"Well, we made it through another day!" Hina said.

"So now, you made the decision to U-Turn Celeste and Akane?"

Hina put a finger to her lip. "I don't know much about Akane, but Celeste just wants to win, and she doesn't care about who she has to put down to do it."

**Chiaki: 1st Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balança- _uhhh…

"STOP!" the judge shouted. "Please, go back and practice more because you clearly don't have the lines memorized."

**Himiko: 1st Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

"STOP! Off tempo! Stay with the beat!"

Himiko gave a very frustrated 'nyeh' and went back to practice more.

* * *

**Chiaki: 3rd Attempt**

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor!_

"Congratulations!" the judge said, handing Chiaki the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop." Hajime read.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Miu and Kazuichi, you are team number five."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 5th Place**

"Okay… we didn't do exceptionally well today… but we're a strong team!" Kazuichi said. Miu actually stayed silent for once in her life.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 8th Place**

"Roadblock" Leon read. "We're at a theater. It's probably music. You do it."

They opened the clue. "Alright, you got this!" Leon said.

"Yeah! Ibuki's got it!"

They moved aside just as Celeste and Akane came in.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"I'll do it," Celeste said. "It's not athletic. I think I can handle it."

**Himiko: 2nd Attempt**

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor!_

"Congratulations!"

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 7th Place**

"You were phenomenal, Himiko!" Tenko gushed.

"Nyeh… I was alright."

They ran outside just as they brushed past the last two teams.

**Ibuki, Celeste**

They were both in the practice room, both sweating bullets. How could they not? They were the last two teams. And they couldn't work together, that was counterproductive. Ibuki was singing it along with the music in her headphones as Celeste was simply listening to it while following along with the lyrics sheet.

"Ibuki," Celeste said. "I hope you know you're going home today."

"I'm not afraid of your threats," she said. "Ha! Just kidding, I'm so nervous and stressed that my heart's about to explode!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I hate parking," Hajime said, wrapping around the block for a space. "Okay, there's one."

They got out and rushed to the garden, where Monokuma was waiting for them.

"Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number six."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 6th Place**

"What's going on? Why are you so middle-of-the-pack?" Monokuma asked. "You've got 7th, 5th, and now 6th."

"Well… in a game like this, it doesn't really matter whether you get first or second-to-last in a midpoint leg. As long as we can avoid elimination and survive long enough to the finale, we can pull this off." Chiaki explained.

**Ibuki**

Ibuki was the first to stand up and leave. She made her way to the stage where Leon and Akane were watching.

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a ca-_

But she moved around too much that her microphone got unplugged. She didn't even notice until two lines later.

"STOP!" the judge shouted. "Stay in one spot, please. Your singing is perfect, just make sure you don't break my microphone!"

"Got it!" Ibuki shouted. But Celeste walked up, trying to cover herself up.

**Celeste: 1st Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

_É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar_

…

"STOP! Did you forget your lines?"

Celeste embarrassingly nodded.

"Go into the back and practice some more."

* * *

"Tenko and Himiko, you are team number seven."

**Tenko and Himiko: 7th Place**

"Yeah, we're not doing so well, but I'll prove we're better than those degenerates!" Tenko said.

**Ibuki: 2nd Attempt**

Ibuki stood up to the stage, heart thumping as the music began.

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

_Num doce balanço a caminho do mar_

_Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema_

_O seu balançado é mais que um poema_

_É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar_

_Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?_

_Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?_

_Ah, a beleza que existe_

_A beleza que não é só minha_

_Que também passa sozinha_

_Ah, se ela soubesse_

_Que quando ela passa_

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

"Congratulations!" the judge shouted, handing Ibuki the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 8th Place**

"Let's get out of here before they get it too!" Leon said, staring at Celeste who was sprinting back to the stage from the practice room.

**Celeste: 2nd Attempt**

_Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça_

_É ela a menina que vem e que passa_

…_..._

_O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça_

_E fica mais lindo por causa do amor_

"Congratulations!" the judge shouted, holding up the clue. Celeste snatched it and ran down to Akane.

**Celeste and Akane: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Akane read.

"We need to try to beat them on the way there if we want a chance," Celeste said. They sprinted out into their cars.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Are you sure we're driving the right way?" Ibuki asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Leon replied.

**Celeste and Akane**

"We're hitting all green lights now…" Celeste said.

"Maybe Nagito has blessed us with good luck?" Akane asked.

"I doubt it… this leg hasn't been lucky."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki pulled up to an empty parking spot. "This is Jardim Botânico, right?" Leon asked a man.

**Celeste and Akane**

"I see Monokuma!" Akane shouted, running towards the mat.

* * *

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "What place do you think you're in?"

"Hopefully eighth," Leon said. Ibuki was too tired to respond.

"Well… I am sorry to tell you... that you are correct and you are team number EIGHT.

**Leon and Ibuki: 8th Place**

"We were so close," Leon said, as Ibuki reached in for a hug.

* * *

Celeste and Akane ran into the garden and approached Monokuma.

"Celeste and Akane, I am sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive, and I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Celeste and Akane: Eliminated**

Celeste began tearing as Akane tried to comfort her. "I wanted the money for a castle,"

"Is that what this is all about? The money?" Akane asked.

"Duh!"

"What about this experience?"

"I could really care less. Unless we're going to France or Germany or something."

Monokuma stared at her with a smug look on his face.

"Well… whatever. It's over."

"Celeste… you're going to need a real talking to."

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Shuichi and Kaede

2nd: Makoto and Sayaka

3rd: Nagito and Nekomaru

4th: Chihiro and Hina

5th: Miu and Kazuichi

6th: Hajime and Chiaki

7th: Tenko and Himiko

8th: Leon and Ibuki (U-Turned)

_ **Eliminated: Celeste and Akane (U-Turned)** _

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.00

Nagito and Nekomaru: 2.67

Miu and Kazuichi: 4.67

Makoto and Sayaka: 5.00

Chihiro and Hina: 5.00

Leon and Ibuki: 6.00

Hajime and Chiaki: 6.00

Tenko and Himiko: 6.67

_ **Celeste and Akane: 8.33** _

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Shuichi 1, Kaede 3

Makoto 2, Sayaka 2

Nagito 3, Nekomaru 1

Chihiro 2, Hina 2

Miu 2, Kazuichi 2

Hajime 2, Chiaki 2

Tenko 2, Himiko 2

Leon 1, Ibuki 3

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

The race intensifies as teams build execution devices and taste-test delicacies in Paris, France.

* * *

**A/N: And that's Leg 3 done! I would appreciate it if you would please take the time to favorite, leave a review, kudos, whatever. By the way, judging from performance so far, who do you predict the final 3 will be? Who are you rooting for? Who gets elimmed next? (I have everything planned out, it won't impact the final results).**


	7. Leg 4.1

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

Nine teams left Montreal and raced through Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A beach challenge gave Hajime and Chiaki issues.

"_What could we be doing wrong?" Chiaki asked._

And a musical Roadblock gave Kazuichi some serious frusturation.

_Olha-_

"_STOP!" the judge shouted._

A scuffle at Christ the Redeemer caused high tensions between Celeste and Akane and Chihiro and Hina.

"_What the hell?" Hina asked, confronting Celeste._

"_What?" Celeste asked._

"_Why'd you push me?" Chihiro asked._

"_I didn't push you," Celeste said._

Which led to Chihiro and Hina using the first U-Turn of the race.

"_We choose to U-Turn Celeste and Akane."_

Celeste and Akane, in response, U-turned Leon and Ibuki to try to save their own skins.

"_Fine. Do Leon and Ibuki." Akane said._

In the end, the musical talent of Kaede helped them win their second leg.

"_Shuichi and Kaede, you are team number ONE!"_

But Leon and Ibuki outsped Celeste and Akane, dropping them to last.

"_Celeste and Akane, I am sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive, and I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."_

Eight teams remain. Who will be eliminated tonight?

* * *

**Leg 4.1**

* * *

_ **This is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1563 by the Portuguese, it is now the most famous city in all of South America. And in the heart of the city, Jardim Botânico, Rio's Botanical Garden. It will now serve as the starting point for leg 4 of the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition.** _

_ **Shuichi and Kaede will depart first at 2:30 AM.** _

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st to depart: 2:30 AM**

Shuichi ripped the clue open. "Fly to the City of Lights!"

**[i] Fly to: Paris, France**

_ **Teams must now leave the tropics of Brazil and fly over 9,000 miles to the City of Lights, Paris, France. Once teams arrive in Paris, they must find the Place de la Concorde to find their next clue.** _

"We're going to Paris!" Kaede cheered.

"_Today we're leaving in first, again," Shuichi explained. "Hopefully we can keep up this streak and prove ourselves to be the strongest team in the race."_

They pushed their stuff in a cab and got inside. "Airport," Shuichi said.

"Goodbye, Rio, you've treated us well," Kaede said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd to depart: 2:32 AM**

"Fly to the City of Lights," Sayaka said. "That's New York, right?"

"No, it's Paris."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

They exited their cab and ran into the airport. "We need a ticket to Paris, as fast as possible!"

The ticket agent typed a few things on her computer. "We have two flights tonight. One arrives at 9:00 tonight via London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic, and the other arrives at 9:30 on Air France but is a direct flight."

"That's thirty minutes," Kaede said. "It's a huge leap."

"I think it's a little risky, taking these connecting flights. It's more likely there'll be some kind of delay or some kind of issue on takeoff or landing."

"Come on!" Kaede urged. "I think it's worth the risk!"

Shuichi reached into his pocket and took out a 100-yen coin. He flipped it as it landed heads-up. "Fine. We'll take the Virgin flight.

"Book the earlier arrival," Shuichi said. The agent handed them their tickets.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st on 1st Flight**

"Hopefully nothing happens," Shuichi said. "I'm getting a bad feeling, though."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"There is a flight that arrives at 9:00 tonight via Rome, and another that arrives at 9:30 directly."

"Arrives, not departs, right?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, these are the arrival times." the agent clarified.

"Let's book it." Sayaka said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd on 1st Flight**

"Hopefully we have people behind us," Makoto said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Nagito!" Nekomaru shouted. "Over here! This counter!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 3rd on 1st Flight**

* * *

The next two teams got on the earlier flight.

**Chihiro and Hina: 4th on 1st Flight**

**Miu and Kazuichi: 5th on 1st Flight**

"We're headed to Paris!" Hina shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hi, we need to get to Paris," Chiaki said to the ticket agent.

"We filled up on our earliest flight just a few minutes ago," the agent replied. "The only flight we have remaining arrives at 9:30."

Hajime sighed. "We have terrible flight luck. Just book that if it's the only flight we have."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st on Last Flight**

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Pfft. Degenerate," Tenko said.

"I'm sorry, but that's the only flight available. It's not my fault."

"Just book it and get out of my face."

"You're the one who walked up to me."

**Tenko and Himiko: 2nd on Last Flight**

"Nyeh," Himiko said. "We're always finding a way to get behind."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Well, at least we're on par with two other teams on our flight now," Leon said. "We need to get ahead, though,"

* * *

The two gates for the two flights were coincidentally right next to each other, so they got the chance to speak and bond with each other.

First, Leon and Ibuki walked up to Makoto and Sayaka.

"Hey! What's up?" Makoto asked.

"We just wanted to say hi," Leon replied. "Is our 'alliance' formal?"

"I don't see why it can't be…" Sayaka said.

"We were considering roping Kaede and Shuichi into it," Ibuki cheered. "Call it 'the Musical Alliance'!"

"Three teams…" Makoto said. "All three of us could definitely make it to the finale, because it's a three-team race to the end. Let's go talk to them about it."

The two teams approached Shuichi and Kaede eating sandwiches.

"Hey," Shuichi said.

"Hi, we were wondering if you'd like to join a three-team alliance among us."

"Sure!" Kaede said. "Any… rules?"

"Well, we plan to not U-turn each other and help each other out on challenges. Though, Ibuki guesses we can make an exception if we think we're in last." Ibuki said.

They all shook hands.

"_Joining an alliance is in our favor," Shuichi explained. "I feel like we're one of the stronger teams on this race, and if these other two teams want to keep us around, that'll help us stay in even when the other teams begin targeting us,"_

"_It's not that smart of a move on their part," Kaede said. "They want to keep us around, knowing we're a strong team. If we make it to the finale with them, we have a high chance of beating them. Hopefully they don't realize that."_

"_I think it's quite a strategic move," Makoto explained. "Yes, they're a strong team, and they can beat us, but I can think of a few advantages. Having a strong team like that on our side increases our chances of making it to the end. Also, they have the second Express Pass that they have to give out on either this leg or next leg, which makes it more likely us or Leon and Ibuki will get it."_

Meanwhile, Chihiro and Hina began to strike up a conversation with Hajime and Chiaki.

"I see you held out on your side of the deal," Hajime said. "Nice work. They're gone."

"Well, of course!" Hina said. "Celeste is definitely a person we should be afraid of. Not from sheer power or force, but she's… how do I put this…"

"Willing to put down others to achieve her goals?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes."

"_Because we U-turned Celeste and Akane yesterday," Hina explained. "I think we've struck up a friendship with Hajime and Chiaki. I hope that goes somewhere."_

* * *

_ **Teams are now en route to Paris, France. Flight 1 is set to arrive at 9:00 PM through London Heathrow, while Flight 2 is set to arrive at 9:30 PM Direct.** _

* * *

**Flight 1: London Heathrow Airport: 6:45 PM**

After teams had made the connection through London and boarded the second flight, they all sat in their seats as the PA blared.

"Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking, and we apologize for the interruption. We have an issue with the landing gear that we must resolve before departing. Estimated delay time is approximately one hour. We apologize for the delay."

"Delayed one hour, huh?" Nagito asked. "Just my luck."

"Rrr… this is why I hate flying," Kazuichi said. "Can I go out there and check what's wrong? I'll fix it!"

"Of all the times I ride in a plane, why now?" Hina asked.

"I should've seen this coming," Makoto said. "It was bound to happen."

"What?" Kaede asked. "Sorry, Shuichi. You were right."

"That's fine, that's fine," Shuichi replied. "We've got five other teams with us, and there's always the possibility that they're going to be done early. Plus, the other teams have a thirty minute jump. That's enough time for them to screw up and fall behind us."

* * *

**Flight 2: Charles De Gaulle Airport: 9:37 PM, Delayed 7 Minutes**

"GO! GO! GO!" Leon shouted. "We need to make up half an hour!"

"Let's beat these degenerates!" Tenko shouted.

The teams ran outside to the line of taxis outside the airport.

"Taxi!" Hajime shouted, getting inside one. "Place de la Concorde!"

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Oh, Himiko, we're in Paris! Isn't this so romantic?"

"..."

Tenko pointed to the driver. "Degenerate! Go faster!"

"Je ne parle pas anglais (I don't speak English)" the driver said.

"Stupid degenerate doesn't know what I'm saying."

"Tenko… he's just French."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We're in Paris, seeing it in its nighttime glory," Ibuki said.

"Look! We're passing the Arc de Triomphe!" Leon pointed.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"If I remember, Place de la Concorde is where they used to do the executions," Hajime said.

"Maybe one of us has to get executed to get our clue," Chiaki said. "Heh. Just kidding. It's probably a Detour Decision Point."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Their taxi stopped as they got out at a plaza with a huge, lit-up obelisk in the center. "Wait here!" Leon said, just as the driver gave a thumbs' up. Leon ran to the middle of the plaza, where there was a clue box among eight piles of wood and metal pieces, and a functional guillotine in the center.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock. Who's ahead of their competition?"

**[R] Who's Ahead of their Competition?**

_ **This is a guillotine. It was used routinely in the French Revolution as a quick and simple beheading method right here in the Place de la Concorde. In this Roadblock, teams are going to have to build one from scratch. Using this model in the center of the plaza, teams must assemble a working guillotine. Once the guillotine has been assembled and checked, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"I'll do it," Leon said.

"You go, Leon!"

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Do you think you can assemble a guillotine?" Tenko asked.

"Nyeh...I assemble my magic items all the time. I can handle it."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"I can do it," Chiaki said, handing Hajime the clue.

"Wait," Hajime said. "None of the other piles are assembled. Are we the first group here? What happened to the other flight?"

**Leon**

Leon approached the piles of wood and looked at the model. "So this is the base… these are the stocks…"

"_After I got there, I realized that there weren't any screws or nails or anything here. We didn't even have a toolbox."_

"How am I supposed to put this together?"

**Chiaki**

Chiaki grabbed one of the pieces and a cylindrical dowel and began using a block of wood to pound the dowel into the pieces of wood.

"_After looking at the model and at what we were given, I realized that we were given a spare piece of wood, probably to use as some kind of hammer," Chiaki explained. "And the dowels were what held the guillotine together. I don't think the other teams realized that."_

**Himiko**

Himiko tried to balance the long side on top of another piece of wood, as it fell over and whacked her on the head.

"Ngh…" she groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"You got this, Himiko!" Tenko shouted.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki repeated the process with many others, forming the base similar to a crisscross pattern.

"Agh!" she winced, quickly snapping her hand backwards.

"_Those pieces of wood were not polished or sanded or anything." Chiaki explained._

"Splinters," She groaned, staring at her hand. "Whatever. Not a big deal"

**Leon**

"Chiaki, how are you doing that?" Leon asked. "How do you assemble it?"

"You've just got to use the dowels!" Chiaki shouted back. "Use one of the pieces of wood to jam it in."

**Himiko**

Himiko used the block of wood to pound the cylinder to connect the pieces of the base together.

"Nyeh…" she groaned. "Too much physical work."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki had picked up a long, slanted dowel. "This is way too big," she said. She then picked up the long, slanted support, and noticed the bottom had a hole directly perpendicular to the base, while the other side had it slightly slanted.

"_After I had observed the other pieces, I realized that I had to ditch the base right now and work on the tall segment, then add it to the base afterwards. Because the way the orientation of the dowels and the holes were, it would only work if you added the base to the body last.."_

**Himiko**

After assembling the base, Himiko began working on the supports for the tall part of the guillotine.

* * *

**Flight 1: Charles de Gaulle Airport: 10:05 PM, Delayed 1 Hour 5 Minutes**

The teams ran through the airport.

"We have to make up time!" Nekomaru shouted.

They ran out to the line of taxis. But, there weren't any taxis there.

"Where are the taxis!" Miu asked. "Oh, there's one right there!"

Miu and Kazuichi ran straight to the only taxi available. "Hi, we need to get to-"

"Sorry. Someone called me."

"Oh, Pierre, is that you?" Kaede asked. "You're our cabbie, right?"

"That's right. You're Kaede, correct?"

"Yup!"

They got into the car as Kazuichi put his hands on his head. "Where are the fucking taxis?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"After our delay in the London Airport," Shuichi said. "We made a great decision in calling a taxi to the Paris Airport during that down time. It looks like it's paid off."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki slid the guillotine blade into the frame of the guillotine, then the stocks. She hammered a dowel into the bottom part of the stocks so the top part would be able to slide up and down.

**Leon**

Leon pounded in the supports, then tried to slide the two tall parts of the frame into their respective spots.

"There are horizontal holes for dowels in there," Leon said. "But how am I supposed to get a dowel in there if I'm sliding it straight down?

**Himiko**

Himiko had placed the tall, vertical segments of the frame into the base, then looked at the supports.

"How am I supposed to do this?" She asked, as the support she was holding had two dowel holes, one aiming to the left and one straight downwards.

She stuck the two dowels into the support, and then tried to jam them into the base and the sides of the frame but to no avail.

* * *

"Look! Taxis!" Chihiro pointed. Sure enough, four taxis began streaming into the airport. Everyone snatched a taxi and got inside.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Everyone's here," Shuichi said, looking at the three teams from the earlier flight. They ran to the clue box.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"Roadblock. Who's ahead of the competition?" Shuichi asked. "I can handle this one.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki had everything assembled; she just had to slide the body of the guillotine onto the base and she would be finished. She tried to lift it up, but it was way too heavy.

"_I realized that I actually had to lift up the guillotine, and that thing was so heavy and lanky that it was near impossible to actually lift it up enough to move and slide it onto the base. So what I ended up doing was laying the body onto the ground, and then lifting up the bottom of it and hammering the base to it."_

Chiaki hammered the base to the bottom of the guillotine, then pulled it back up to its feet with all of her might.

**Himiko**

"I have to disassemble this," Himiko said. She grabbed the side of the frame and tried to lift it up, but had quite some difficulty in doing so.

"_So after I realized that I had done things wrong and it was impossible to insert the dowels at this point, I had to disassemble what I had. But, given that we weren't using screws or anything like that, you had to use brute strength to take off the pieces once you've already wedged it in there."_

Himiko tried to lift it off the base, and struggled as she began sweating. It came out with tremendous force as it fell on her, knocking her to the ground.

**Shuichi**

Shuichi went back and forth between the model guillotine and the set of wood.

"_This looked like a very technical challenge, something that you needed every single detail correct. And judging by what Himiko was doing, it was difficult to take something out once you've put it in. I tried my best to check that I was doing it correctly almost every time I were to insert a piece."_

He grabbed a piece of wood and measured it against one of the pieces of the base. "This is the right piece…"

**Leon**

Leon lifted a side of the frame off the base. "Dammit, this isn't working."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki looped the rope through the hook up on the top of the guillotine, then went down and tied it to the top of the blade. She gripped the rope, pulled it back and lifted the blade, then released it to test it as it stopped right at the perfect place.

"Can I get a check?" Chiaki asked. Hajime watched as the judge appeared and inspected each part of the guillotine. He tested the slide of the blade, looked for any loose pieces, and checked if the stocks were done correctly.

"Congratulations," the judge said, handing Chiaki a clue.

"Thank you." Chiaki replied, running over to Hajime.

"Great job!" Hajime said.

"Don't mention it," Chiaki said, ripping the clue open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way on foot down to the nearby marked banks of the River Seine and row yourselves to Notre Dame."

**[i] Proceed to: Notre Dame**

_ **Teams must now make their way down to the nearby banks of the River Seine and row one of these marked kayaks to Notre Dame, where their next clue will await them.** _

"We have to row," Hajime said. "Have you ever rowed before?"

"Not really," Chiaki replied.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

Makoto and Sayaka arrived at the scene. "I think I can do it," Makoto said.

"Good luck," Sayka replied

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 6th Place**

"I know how to assemble a PC, I can do this," Chihiro said.

**Leon**

Leon had began using Chiaki's method and had the guillotine laid down on its side while he hammered the base to it.

"Can I get a check?" Leon asked.

The judge walked up and looked at Leon's guillotine. He pulled the stocks up, tested the sliding of the blade, and whacked it just in case anything were to fall off.

"Congratulations" the judge said, handing Leon a clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Hajime and Chiaki just left. We can catch up," Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki went down the stairs to the side of the Seine as they ran up and down it, looking for the marked kayaks.

"There it is!" Hajime pointed. Chiaki grabbed two oars as Hajime pulled the kayak closer to the edge of the river, and then stepped inside. But there was a bit of a drop between the banks of the river and the water level, as Hajime slightly missed and fell into the water. He groaned as he climbed into the kayak.

Chiaki grabbed the oars and jumped into the front seat, staying dry unlike Hajime.

"Dammit," he groaned. "And it's the middle of the night. I can't dry off that fast!"

"I have a towel in my backpack," Chiaki replied.

"Wow, you came prepared."

They untied their kayak as Hajime pushed it off the edge. "Let's go!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 7th Place**

"I'll do it," Nekomaru said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in Last Place**

"I wanna do this," Kazuichi said.

"Fine." Miu said.

**Himiko**

Himiko hammered in the base of the guillotine to the frame and bench. "Can I get a check?"

"It's great," The judge said, handing Himiko the clue.

"You were amazing, Himiko!"

"Nyeh… I was last from our flight though…"

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 3rd Place**

"That's alright, Himiko! Now, let's catch up and win this leg!"

**Shuichi**

Shuichi slid the blade and then the stocks onto the frame of the guillotine as he took the rope and tied it to the blade and looped it around the hook on top.

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru didn't even need the wooden block as a hammer, as he pounded in the dowels with his fists to form the base. "I don't need a tool or hammer! I'M NEKOMARU NIDAAIIII"

**Makoto**

At this point, a crowd had gathered around them as they watched them all make the guillotines, all talking in French and taking pictures without even bothering to turn off the flash.

"God, they're so annoying," Makoto said.

"Just ignore them!" Sayaka shouted.

**Kazuichi**

Kazuichi was rather inattentive as while he was working on the base of the guillotine as a toddler walked up to the blade and tried to lift it, dropping it on his foot.

"WWAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" he cried as his mother arrived and swore Kazuichi out in French.

"I don't know what just happened, but I don't like it…" Kazuichi trailed. "Could they not have fenced this area off?"

"Wow, Kazuichi, making kids cry? Not cool!" Nagito yelled.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro finished up with the base as he began attaching the top of the frame to the sides, then sliding in the blade and the stocks. He used the block of wood to smash in the dowel to the bottom piece of the stocks.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They rowed smoothly through the midnight river of Paris. "This is so beautiful," Chiaki said. "Too bad we can't just stay here and enjoy it."

Chiaki was too busy looking at the view that they almost ran into a steamboat.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Oh! Ibuki sees the boats!" Ibuki pointed.

"Thanks, Ibuki!" Leon said, stepping down into the canoe. "Don't forget the oars!"

"The what?" Ibuki asked, already in the canoe.

"The oars! Over there! Nevermind, I'll get them."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru worked extremely fast as despite him being almost the last one to arrive, he was the first to ask for a check after being able to lift the entire guillotine up.

"Can I get a check?" Nekomaru asked.

"That's correct,"

"YEAH!" Nekomaru cheered.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

**Makoto**

Makoto held the blade, but dropped it, nearly smashing his foot in.

"Agh. I can't win if I have to go to the hospital!"

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko got into the boat as they began rowing. However, they failed to notice that they were still tied down to the dock and not going anywhere.

**Leon and Ibuki**

They were rowing down the Seine right past the Louvre as they noticed Hajime and Chiaki up front.

"There they are!" Ibuki pointed. "We can catch up!"

**Shuichi**

Shuichi pushed the guillotine up to its upright position. "Check?"

"Congratulations," the judge said, giving Shuichi the clue.

"Great job, Shuichi!" Kaede cheered.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"Row yourselves down the River Seine," Kaede read. "Ooh! So romantic!"

"Uhh… well…" Shuichi screeched, blushing.

**Chihiro**

"Can I get a check?" Chihiro asked. The judge walked up and inspected it. Everything was the same, except the blade was backwards and aiming the wrong direction.

"I'm sorry, it's not like the model," he said.

Chihiro looked at the guillotine. "What?"

**Makoto**

Makoto ignored the swarming crowd as he lifted up the guillotine from the floor, but dropped it when a camera flash surprised him. He groaned and pushed it back up, and pushed some of the dowels that had loosened.

"Congratulations," the judge said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 6th Place**

"Row down the River Seine," Sayaka read.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito stepped in the back as Nekomaru jumped in the front, almost catapulting Nagito forwards. Luckily, he held on.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"There's a split in the river," Hajime said.

"Oh, don't worry. There's an arrow pointing to the right."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki were slowly creeping up behind Hajime and Chiaki.

"Hopefully they don't notice us," Leon whispered.

"O haiii!" Ibuki screamed. Hajime and Chiaki turned around as Leon facepalmed.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Come on, Himiko!" Tenko shouted. "Put some more work into it!"

"I'm trying… this is tiring."

Himiko's motions became out of sync with Tenkos as they smacked against the wall.

"Himiko… you need to keep up." Tenko said.

"I'm trying!" she replied

**Kazuichi**

Kazuichi slid the blade up and then slid the stocks in, then secured the bottom of the stocks with a dowel. After that, he lifted it up as the blade came down, almost slicing Kazuichi's hand off.

"Aah!" he shouted, pulling his hand back. "That was close. Can I get a check now?"

"It's good," The judge said, handing Kazuichi the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 7th Place**

**Chihiro**

Chihiro went back and forth between the model and his guillotine. "Am i missing a dowel or something?"

He checked everything and made sure nothing was loose and he had no spare pieces, and he shook the entire thing to make sure nothing fell out. His last resort was to push everything together just in case something was loose and he didn't notice.

"C-Check," Chihiro said.

"I'm sorry, it's not correct."

Tears welled up in Chihiro's eyes. "I don't- I don't know, anymore"


	8. Leg 4.2

** Leg 4.2**

* * *

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I see the race flag up there!" Hajime pointed. They got to the side of the river and tied up their kayaks before hopping off. Afterwards, they ran upstairs to the plaza in front of Notre Dame.

"There's the clue box!" Chiaki pointed. They picked up their clue and ripped it.

"Detour. Tour or Taste?"

_ **In this Detour, teams will have an opportunity to travel the streets of Paris or taste test traditional French cheeses. It will be their choice: Tour or Taste.** _

**[D] Tour**

_ **Paris is the city with the third most international tourists per year. As such, many people capitalize on this by offering rickshaw tours. In Tour, teams must travel to the Centre Pompidou where each of them must drive a bicycle rickshaw full of passengers through the streets of Paris to the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and then return back to the Centre Pompidou. Once they return to Centre Pompidou, the passengers will give teams their next clue. While this option may seem straightforward, teams will have to get directions themselves and pull a heavy weight.** _

**[D] Taste**

_ **Cheese is one of France's national delicacies. In Taste, teams must travel to this marked stall at the market Marche d'Aligre where they will taste twenty-five different types of French cheeses. Then, teams will have to travel to the marked stall at the market Marche Bastile where they will have to taste each cheese and place the correct name over it. Once every cheese matches their respective name, teams will receive their next clue. However, if they don't, teams might have to return to the first market to taste the cheese again.** _

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"I think we should do taste," Chiaki said. "From the distance between these monuments, Tour should be around thirty minutes on a normal bike, but we'd be pulling two people each. I think it's too risky."

"Yeah, I agree," Hajime replied.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Ibuki, how strong are your legs?"

"Ibuki's legs are pretty strong…" Ibuki replied

"I think we should do Tour," Leon said. "Twenty-five cheeses are just too much to remember by name and taste."

**Tenko and Himiko**

They were rowing as their boat began to tip to the left.

"Uhh… Himiko?" Tenko asked. Their boat continued to tip as water began to fill it. In due time, they collapsed into the river.

"Dammit. Ugh… the finish dock's right there. Let's just swim over," Tenko said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"The first three teams left pretty early," Nagito said. "Hopefully our rowing can help catch up to them. But I'm leaving it to Nekomaru right now because my rowing is worthless and a waste of energy compared to his."

Nekomaru was power-rowing, almost smacking Nagito in the face several times.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Nagito and Nekomaru are getting away," Kaede said.

"That's alright," Shuichi replied. "We've just got to focus on not getting last."

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 3rd Place**

After they had gotten out of the river and pulled in their kayak, they tied it down and ran upstairs to Notre Dame.

"Detour." Himiko read. "I think we should do the cheese challenge."

"Alright, you make such great choices, Himiko!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto was behind Sayaka. "Sayaka? You're holding the oar backwards."

Sayaka tried to adjust it as she dropped it into the water. Makoto used his oar to pull it back towards him.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Come on, noodle arms!" Miu said. "If this is all the energy you've got, then your future girlfriend's going to be very disappointed in bed."

"I react better to praise! Leave me alone!" Kazuichi bit back.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro sat down with a bottle of water, simply staring at his guillotine and then staring at the model and the rest of the completed guillotines the other teams left behind.

"It's painful," Hina said. "I can see it right now, I can see what's wrong, but I can't tell him."

Chihiro took a drink of water and then stood up. He looked at the blade on his guillotine, then looked at the blade at the model guillotine.

"Is this it?" Chihiro asked, taking out the stocks on the bottom of the guillotine so that he could slide the blade out to the floor. When he did that, he pulled the blade out and flipped it over, then slid it back up the frame and locked it in place.

"Can I have a check?" Chihiro asked.

"It's good," The judge replied, handing Chihiro the clue. He smiled as he ran up to Hina.

"I'm sorry," Chihiro frowned.

"It's alright. Let's focus on getting back with everyone else."

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Row yourselves down the River Seine."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki exited their cab as they ran into the market. "Marked stall… marked stall…" Hajime murmured. "Here it is!"

They ran up to the stall where twenty-five cheeses were on display. "That's a lot." Chiaki said. Hajime didn't give any more input as they began tasting the cheese. "So why don't you taste the left side of the table, and I'll taste the right," Chiaki said.

"That's a good idea," Hajime replied. Hajime sliced a bit of camembert and stuffed it into his mouth. "That one's pretty good."

Chiaki took a slice of emmental and chewed it thoroughly.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki got out at the Centre Pompidou and ran up to the several stations of rickshaws attached to bikes.

"It says we each have to take one, right?" Leon asked. Ibuki read it and nodded. They each got on one of the bikes and began pedaling them to the center of the plaza where two passengers each got inside.

"Alright, you need to visit the Arc de Triomphe, do a full circle around the roundabout, and then go under the Eiffel Tower. When you return here, I will give you the clue," Leon's instructor said. He nodded.

"Let's go!" Ibuki shouted, beginning to pedal it but having some issues.

"This is hard!" Ibuki complained.

"_Ibuki did not think about how hard it would be to tow two other people on a cart behind a bike." Ibuki explained._

"Do you want to switch?" Leon asked.

"No, no, Ibuki is fine. Let's go!"

Leon put effort into pedalling but was clearly struggling.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime continued eating the cheeses. "Man," he said.

Chiaki took a bite of Brie de Meaux and then took a bite of Brie de Melun.

"These cheeses have almost the exact same name," Chiaki said. "The Melun was stronger, but they look identical. This is not easy."

"_So once you've eaten several types of cheese," Hajime said. "The flavors begin blending together in your mouth and it's hard to tell what flavors come with the cheese you've just put in your mouth, or the cheese that you had previously eaten and just has lingering flavor. What we ended up doing after realizing this was taking a drink of water in between each cheese."_

"A lot of them taste exactly the same to me." Hajime replied. "Do you think we should switch?"

"No, I think we should just continue this. The other Detour looks hard."

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko entered the market to see Hajime and Chiaki tasting the cheese.

"How is it?" Himiko asked.

"This is hard," Chiaki replied. "We can get through this though."

Himiko chopped off a piece of Roquefort and then spit it out. "I don't like that."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Ngh!" Ibuki groaned.

"Are you alright?" Leon asked, turning around.

"I'm fine… this is real tiring."

"_The navigation wasn't a real issue for us," Ibuki explained. "These were famous monuments. Of course everyone knew where they were."_

"_But," Leon continued. "The real challenge was managing the pedicab while there were two people riding behind it. It was very difficult and exhausting to pedal. Luckily, there were three wheels so we couldn't tip over."_

They had biked back to the Place de la Concorde to see all of the guillotines already built. "Everyone's already done with the Roadblock," Ibuki said.

"Ibuki, that doesn't matter right now."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"I think we should do the biking," Nagito said.

"Definitely… definitely." Nekomaru replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"We're not physical, we should do the cheese challenge," Kaede said.

"I know we're not a physical team, but the cheese challenge seems too complicated," Shuichi argued.

"_Though we did win two of the three legs so far," Shuichi said. "We definitely aren't the strongest team physically. We got through on mental challenges and sheer luck. But that doesn't mean we absolutely can't do physical challenges once in a while."_

"Alright, what if we just start with the cheese challenge, but we can switch if it's too difficult." Shuichi said. "But we're going to have to leave early."

"Alright," Kaede said, smiling.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"I hate this," Tenko said, pulling a slice of cheese out of her mouth.

"_Those cheeses were unforgiving," Tenko said. "It was very difficult to tell which cheeses went with which names, and a lot of those names were very similar. There were like four types of cheese that began with 'Bleu', like two types of brie… it was absolute chaos."_

"I don't know if I can do this," Tenko said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime wolfed down a slice of Pelardon. "That's all on my side."

"I've got down mine," Chiaki said. "Let's go find this other market."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka rowed into the marked pier and tied down their boats. "That was great!" Makoto exclaimed. Sayaka took his hand as they ran up the stairs to Notre Dame.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 6th Place**

"I think we should do the cheese challenge," Sakaya said.

"But that's… err… twenty-five cheeses sound like a huge hassle. Especially if a lot of them taste the same. Biking should be straightforward because the locations are two major monuments."

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Fine."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Tenko…" Himiko said. "I'm on cheese overload right now."

"Me too," Tenko replied, spitting out some cheese onto the floor. "Do you want to switch, Himiko?"

"Yeah," Himiko replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki took her hands off the steering and put her hands up in the air. "Yes! Yes! I can feel the rush of energy flowing through my toes!"

"MIND THE TRUCK!" Leon shouted, just as Ibuki slammed against the back of it.

"Ouchie!" Ibuki groaned, grabbing her face.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

They arrived at the biking challenge and hopped onto the bikes as they began pedaling off.

"WAIT!" The passengers shouted, "We need to be on there!"

"Oh, haha!" Nekomaru said, stopping. The passengers each got into the backs of the rickshaws as Nagito and Nekomaru went back off again.

"Oh, that is significantly harder," Nagito said. "No matter. I have hope that my weak, insignificant legs will get through this."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They stopped running as they arrived at the second market, panting. "Alright, let's find the marked stand."

They ran around the market and found the massive stand, which had 25 cheeses on it and an assortment of name tags on the side. "Alright, we got this."

They took a slice of each cheese and put up the names of each cheese as they saw accordingly.

"Can we get a check?" Chiaki asked. The judge walked up and shook his head.

"No?" Hajime asked. Chiaki swapped the names of the two Bries.

"Check now?"

"No."

Hajime swapped the names of two of the blue cheeses. "Check?"

"No."

Chiaki swapped the names of the bries back. "Check?"

"It's good." the judge said, giving Hajime the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

They smiled as Chiaki ripped the clue open.

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop" Chiaki read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Palace of Versailles**

_ **The Palace of Versailles was the residence of the royal family back before the times of the French Revolution. It is now a historical monument, and the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in with me may be eliminated.** _

"We're going to see Monokuma and get this leg over with," Hajime said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 7th Place**

"This better be a good Detour. I'm excited and sopping wet right now." Miu said. Kazuichi ignored her as he ripped the clue.

"We should do the cheese," Kazuichi said. "I'm not that good at anything… physical."

"Is that what your last girlfriend told you?"

"Hey! Get a new joke!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki circled around the Arc de Triomphe in the roundabout. But Leon was visibly distressed as it was quite busy and there were no lanes.

"Ibuki! Don't get killed!" Leon shouted.

"Don't tell Ibuki what to do!" Ibuki retaliated.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka arrived at the cheese booth. "Where is everyone?" Makoto asked.

"_When we arrived at the Cheese challenge, we realized there was no other teams at the stand. We weren't sure if that was a good or a bad thing," Makoto explained._

"_We figured that either they all did the other Detour or got done with this Detour rather quickly." Sayaka said. "It could go either way, but we were getting some bad feelings."_

Makoto shaved off a slice of cheese and popped it in his mouth. "That's pungent."

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko arrived at the biking challenge at the Centre Pompidou as they each picked up a bike and the passengers stepped on.

"Alright, Himiko, are you sure you can handle this? If we start, we're not switching back."

"Tenko, I'm fine! Stop treating me like a little kid!"

Himiko tried to pedal to realize that she couldn't quite do so. She put all of her force and weight into the pedal, and it just barely moved.

"Nyyyeeehhhhh!"

"Aww, you're so adorable when you're overwhelmed!"

"NYEEEEEEHHHHHHH!" She shouted, mustering up all of her strength. "Why isn't it moving!"

The camera panned down to where she was clenching the bike's brake.

She tried again, face getting all crinkled in work and agitation. "NYEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Makoto and Sayaka turned around. "Oh, thank god," Makoto said. "Wait, weren't you in front of us?"

"Our cab was slow. Anyways, how's it going, alliance members?" Kaede asked.

"It's going fine," Sayaka replied. "This challenge is hard. Why don't we just divide the table into fours? So we only have to remember six each?"

"That's good thinking," Shuichi agreed. They each separated the table into four sections of six.

"Oh, this is much more manageable," Sayaka said.

**Hina and Chihiro**

Hina was doing most of the paddling while Chihiro was rowing alongside her, but not quite adding anything significant.

"Sorry I can't be much help, Hina." Chihiro said. "I don't have much upper body strength."

"Don't worry about it. We just need to focus on getting in front of at least one other team."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito was biking the rickshaw in the middle of the street just as two trucks went at almost top speeds on either side of him, edges barely scraping the rickshaw.

"You're making me uncomfortable," the passenger said.

"I make everyone uncomfortable," Nagito replied.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki paid their cab driver as they exited their vehicle and ran towards the palace.

"Monokuma? Where is that bear?" Hajime asked.

"He's over there," Chiaki pointed.

Monokuma waved as they approached him and jumped on the mat. "Hajime and Chiaki," he said. "You are team number ONE!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st Place**

Hajime hi-fived Chiaki.

"It's about fucking time!" Monokuma said. "I have some more good news. For winning this leg of the race, you have won a trip for two on a cruise line to Indonesia."

"That's great," Hajime said.

"Do you think you surpassed everyone else's expectations?" Monokuma asked. "You're a reserve student, and untalented like these other folks here."

"Well, at the end of the day, we're all just normal people. Some of us have talent, some of us don't, but we're people nonetheless."

"_It feels great after being quite average in the first three legs, we finally get a win in today." Hajime explained. "It means the world to me."_

**Tenko and Himiko**

"NYEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!" Himiko shouted, still gripping the brake but not quite realizing it.

"Oh, Himiko! The brake!"

"Nyeh?" Himiko asked. She looked back at her pedals. "What do you mean?"

"You're gripping the brake!"

"Oh." She said. "What a pain. Let's go."

She tried to move, but found more resistance than she was expecting. She grunted a bit before getting enough practical movement.

**Makoto and Sayaka, Shuichi and Kaede**

Makoto and Sayaka assembled their cheeses as Shuichi and Kaede assembled their side of the cheeses. They glanced at each other's work as they put them up identically.

"Check?" Sayaka asked. The judge handed her the clue, then handed Shuichi the clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Yeah!" Kaede shouted. "We-"

"Make a great team?" Sayaka asked. "Yeah, we do."

"How did you kno-"

"I'm psychic!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Detour. Tour or Taste?" Hina read. "I think I would be better at the biking, but I'm not sure if you can handle it. No offense."

"It's alright. I doubt I can do that."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki biked underneath the Eiffel Tower as they went back and got back onto the road.

"Is that good enough for you?" Leon asked the passengers.

"Yeah, as long as we've got a photo!"

Ibuki was too exhausted to make any of her cheerful remarks as she panted and followed Leon.

"Ibuki, are you alright?"

"Ibuki is okay… ibuki is okay…"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru wrapped their rickshaws around the Arc de Triomphe as their passengers snapped pictures.

"I sure wish I could be in your shoes right now." Nagito said, looking at Nekomaru, then zig-zagging through traffic and cutting off other cars in the roundabout. The passengers were visibly distressed and clinging onto the sides of the rickshaw for dear life.

"What are you doing?" the passenger asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be fine."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the cheese Detour as they began shoveling cheese into their faces.

"Hey, dumbass!" Miu shouted. "Don't put more than one cheese in your mouth at once!"

"I'm multitasking!" Kazuichi replied.

"Fucking moron!"

They continued tasting.

"I'm going to get a fucking orgasm from this cheese."

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko was riding with barely any struggle while Himiko was sweating profusely and clearly putting all of her leg work into the pedals. Himiko took off her mage hat and threw it at the passengers. "Hold… huff… hold that please"

Himiko continued groaning, trying to keep up with Tenko.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka got out of their cab as they opened up the trunk and slammed it after grabbing their things, just as Shuichi and Kaede's cab pulled up.

"It's a long sprint from the road to the palace." Makoto said. "Hopefully they don't beat us to the mat."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede carefully counted out their money and handed it to the cab driver before getting out and running to the palace, right behind Makoto and Sayaka. Makoto and Sayaka reached the Pit Stop mat first, and jumped on it.

"Makoto and Sayaka, you are team number two." Monokuma said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd Place**

"Yeah!" Makoto said, hugging Sayaka.

"And Shuichi and Kaede, you are team number three."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd Place**

"It's not first, but we beat at least two other teams that had a thirty minute jump on us." Shuichi said. "We should at least be proud of that."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki biked back onto the pavement at the Centre Pompidou, and stepped off as the passengers handed them the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"I'm so tired," Ibuki said between breaths.

"Can you run some more?" Leon asked. "We're going to need that. That took longer than it should've."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Oh… fuck." Miu said, bending over and staring at the twenty-five cheeses in agony.

"This… this is not fucking okay," Kazuichi said. "I'm going to puke…"

"_Now… the cheese challenge had me feeling terrible." Kazuichi explained. "I'm not sure if it's because I'm eating while I'm tired and stressed, or if I picked up a stomach bug in Rio yesterday, but I was fucking nauseous."_

His cheeks puffed out as he swallowed it back up again.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito wiped the sweat off his forehead as he arrived at the Eiffel Tower and unscrewed the top of a bottle of water.

"This is brutal," Nagito said. "How much do you guys weigh?"

"That's rude," the passengers said.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu drank an entire bottle of water before stepping off to the side. "Alright, let's just get to the other fuckin' marketplace!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina arrived at the Detour just as Miu and Kazuichi were leaving.

"How is it?" Chihiro asked.

"S-see for yourself," Kazuichi replied.

Chihiro and Hina ran up to the stand as they looked at all of the cheeses.

"That's a lot," Hina said. "Don't worry. We can get through this!"

**Tenko and Himiko**

They were on their way back to the museum after visiting the Eiffel Tower. Tenko looked behind her to get a good glance at Himiko, who was struggling to keep up with her.

"Come on, Himiko! Put some more work into it!"

"Nyeh… c-car."

"Huh?"

A car had began to exit its space as Tenko smacked against it, throwing her off the bike and almost throwing the passengers off the carriage.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru had returned to the front of the museum at the Centre Pompidou as the passengers handed them the clue.

"Thank you!" Nekomaru's passengers shouted. Nagito's passengers trembled in fear. "Just… just go."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Nagito read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Leon and Ibuki, you are team number four." Monokuma said.

**Leon and Ibuki: 4th Place**

"Who got in front of us from the second flight?" Leon asked.

"Makoto and Sayaka, and Shuichi and Kaede."

"Damn… good thing we're in that alliance." Leon said.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the second cheese shop as they instantly began shoving cheese into their mouths.

"This… this is hard." Kazuichi said.

"These cheeses are familiar, but I don't remember the names…" Miu said. After tasting them, Miu and Kazuichi shrugged and randomly placed the name tags on top of the cheeses.

"That's not correct," the stand owner said. Miu rearranged them. "That's not correct."

"Fuck," Miu said. "Why are you so bad at this!"

"Me?" Kazuichi asked. "I remembered some. Why didn't you remember ANY of them?"

"W-well… I figured that you had it under control… so I left it to you… But CLEARLY that didn't work out!"

"Of course it didn't work out, you dumb bitch!"

"Dumb bitch?" Miu asked, face showing arousal.

"How did we survive this long?" Kazuichi asked, facepalming. "Let's head back to the first market."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

They ran up to the Pit Stop mat and jumped on it, as Monokuma greeted them.

"Nagito and Nekomaru," he said. "You are team number five."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 5th Place**

"Alright.." Nagito said. "It's our worst yet, but it's not a big deal. If we keep hoping, we can push forward!"

"I like your spirit, Nagito!" Nekomaru shouted.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Himiko panted heavily as they arrived back at the Centre Pompidou.

"Here is your next clue," the passenger handed.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Tenko read.

"We wasted time switching detours," Himiko said. "We must've spent half an hour at the cheese challenge. That nullified our lead."

"All we can do right now is hope that other teams are still struggling at the cheese challenge." Tenko said. "And I have a feeling they are."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Mmm…" Hina said. "That's good cheese."

"Hina… focus. Remember the names!"

"Oh. I forgot about that. I just want to indulge in some delicious cheese."

"The flavors are subtle, but there is a difference," Chihiro said. "Do you think you've got them down?"

"I need to taste these a few more times." Hina replied. Just then, Miu and Kazuichi came running back into the market.

"What happened?" Chihiro asked.

"We got it wrong! We have to taste them again!" Kazuichi replied.

"Oh my god," Hina said. "We still have a chance."

Hina picked up a glob of camembert and plopped it into her mouth. "Alright… I think I have it."

They ran out to their cab, who was waiting for them. "Marche Bastile?" Chihiro said. The driver nodded as they got in.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Remember the names, Miu!"

"Alright, alright, I've got the fucking message, now let me actually do it"

Miu and Kazuichi continued tasting cheeses, nerves full of adrenaline and body full of stress.

"If they get this on their first go, we're screwed." Kazuichi said.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko and Himiko's cab pulled up to the palace as they paid him and grabbed their heavy backpacks. "Alright, let's get Monokuma!" Tenko said, running up to the mat.

"Tenko and Himiko," Monokuma said. "You are team number six."

**Tenko and Himiko: 6th Place**

"You guys seem to be in some kind of middle of the pack loop," Monokuma said. "5th, 8th, 7th, 6th. It looks like any time you seem to get some kind of significant advantage, you blow it enough that your lead evaporates but you're not in too much danger."

"I guess… bad luck?" Tenko suggested. "We can do better. I'm sure of it. Right, Himiko!"

"y-Yeah!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina arrived at the second market and ran up to the marked stall, where there were more cheeses.

"Alright, let's do this." Hina said, taking a slice of the blue cheese and placing a name tag over that, while Chihiro started with the softer cheeses on the other side of the table.

"Can we get a check?" Chihiro asked. The judge walked up and looked at the table. However, Hina swapped the names of Bleu d'Auvergne and Bleu de Gex.

"No," the judge said.

"Was that an answer to the table, or an answer to my question?" Chihiro asked.

"Sorry, but it's not correct," The judge said.

Chihiro swapped two of the bries. "Can I get a check now?"

"No."

Hina swapped Pelardon with Camembert. "Check?"

"No."

Hina was about to swap two more random cheese names until Chihiro put out a hand to stop her.

"Hina, we're digging our own grave here. Let's just go back and retaste the cheese."

"But… Miu and Kazuichi can beat us!"

"Randomly swapping cheeses is going to take longer than going back to the first market and trying them again. Let's go."

"Fine."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"I know I said I liked it at first," Miu said. "But I'm getting sick of it after dealing with it for so long. Kind of like your face."

"Why are you like this?" Kazuichi asked, gripping his beanie to stifle his tears.

"Well… I'm ready to go!" They ran outside, Kazuichi taking off his beanie and wiping his tears with it before hopping into their cab just as Chihiro and Hina's cab came back.

"W-Was that Chihiro and Hina?" Kazuichi asked. As they stepped outside. Kazuichi's face lit up with glee.

"They didn't get it either!" Kazuichi said. "We can still win this."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think they just left," Hina said, clearly distressed. "Let's just do this quickly and get back to the other market. It's not too far."

They went line by line, tasting each cheese.

"Wait," Chihiro said. "Why are we relying only on our taste? Let's just see if we can match up the names to their looks as well. They're clearly different."

"That won't matter if Miu and Kazuichi get it this time."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi went back to the second market and approached the cheese stand again.

"Hi, we're back!" Kazuichi said. They tasted each of the cheeses again and put up the signs accordingly.

"Can we get a check?" Miu asked. The judge looked at it and shook his head. Miu swapped the names of the bries. "Check now?"

"That's good," the judge said, handing Miu and Kazuichi the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 7th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Kazuichi read. "Comeoncomeoncomeon"

"Don't tell me to come! I'll come when I want to come!"

"Now is not the time for pervy jokes!" Kazuichi scolded. Miu's expression bolded as they ran outside and jumped in their taxi. "Palace of Versailles."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina continued tasting the cheeses.

"What are you doing?" Hina asked. Chihiro was just kind of staring at the cheese.

"I'm sorry… I'm just extremely full right now. Sorry I can't be of use… but I'm trying to remember what the cheeses look like."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"We haven't seen them in a while," Kazuichi said. "We don't know if they arrived at the guessing part of the cheese challenge right after we left, or if they're still at the taste testing spot. But all we need is for our cab to get lost or break down or get stuck in traffic to lose this chance."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think… I think I can do this." Chihiro said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Hina said. They bolted out of the market and hopped back in their cab, who was visibly confused about why they kept going back and forth.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi's cab pulled up to the sidewalk as they got out and paid. They gripped their backpacks in anxiety as they ran around the palace. Kazuichi literally ran right past him.

"Monokuma's right there!" Miu pointed. "Dumbass!"

Kazuichi changed trajectory and turned around to leap onto the Pit Stop mat.

"Miu and Kazuichi…" Monokuma said. "What place do you think you're in?"

"Hopefully seventh?" Kazuichi asked, wincing. "Maybe better? We just need to stay in this race."

"Miu and Kazuichi… you ARE team number seven and you are still in this race."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 7th Place**

Kazuichi fell to his knees. "That was the most stressed I've been so far. Even when I walked down that building."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"That's correct," the judge said, handing them their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Palace of Versailles." Hina read. They walked back to their taxi, knowing somewhere deep down, that they were in last place.

"It's okay, it's okay." Hina said, patting a trembling Chihiro on the back.

"It's all my fault," Chihiro replied. "If I didn't screw up with that guillotine, we could race again. We could race tomorrow. We could win the hundred million."

Their taxi pulled up to the palace as they took a jog of shame to the Pit Stop mat.

"Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma said. "Rough day, huh?"

"It's the toughest we've had yet," Hina replied. "Are we the last team."

"You are the last team to arrive."

**Chihiro and Hina: Last Place**

They both nodded.

"Got anything to say for yourself, Chihiro?"

"I feel like I've let my partner down, like I've let Hina down, like I've lost our only chance at winning or even competing even more."

He sniffled and wiped some snot off his nose. "Sorry… I'd never think I'd break down in Paris like this."

"Well… you haven't lost your only chance." Monokuma said.

"Huh?" Hina asked.

"This is a Non-Elimination leg."

"What?" Chihiro asked. "Oh my god, we got so lucky."

He cried again and hugged Hina closer.

"Now you may have survived, but on the next leg, you will have to face an additional challenge called a Speed Bump. It's a challenge that only you have to complete to continue racing. Are you up for the task?"

"We're ready, Monokuma," Hina said.

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Hajime and Chiaki

2nd: Makoto and Sayaka

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th: Leon and Ibuki

5th: Nagito and Nekomaru

6th: Tenko and Himiko

7th: Miu and Kazuichi

8th: Chihiro and Hina (Non-Elimination)

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.25

Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.25

Makoto and Sayaka: 4.25

Hajime and Chiaki: 4.75

Miu and Kazuichi: 5.25

Leon and Ibuki: 5.50

Hina and Chihiro: 5.75

Tenko and Himiko: 6.50

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Hajime 2, Chiaki 3

Makoto 3, Sayaka 2

Shuichi 2, Kaede 3

Leon 2, Ibuki 3

Nagito 3, Nekomaru 2

Tenko 2, Himiko 3

Miu 2, Kazuichi 3

Chihiro 3, Hina 2

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Teams travel their way through the souks and marketplaces of Marrakech, Morocco, where Chihiro and Hina face a delectable Speed Bump, and one team's dream shatters like Moroccan pottery. Who will be eliminated next?


	9. Leg 5.1

**Leg 5.1**

* * *

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

Eight teams raced through Paris, France.

A flight delay caused five teams to fall behind.

"_Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking, and we apologize for the interruption. We have an issue with the landing gear that we must resolve before departing. Estimated delay time is approximately one hour. We apologize for the delay."_

"_Delayed one hour, huh?" Nagito asked. "Just my luck."_

A revolutionary Roadblock caused Chihiro to struggle.

_Tears welled up in Chihiro's eyes. "I don't- I don't know, anymore"_

In the end, Hajime and Chiaki were able to tough it out enough to win the leg.

"_Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number ONE."_

However, the setback by the Roadblock combined with struggling at the Detour caused Chihiro and Hina to fall back into last.

"_Chihiro and Hina, you are the last team to arrive."_

However, they were given a second chance.

"_This is a non-elimination leg."_

Eight teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st to depart, 2:30 PM**

"Where are we going next?" Hajime asked, ripping the clue open. He chuckled. "Fly to Marrakech, Morocco."

**[i] Fly to: Marrakech, Morocco**

_ **Teams must now leave Paris and fly southwest to the former Imperial city of Marrakech, Morocco. Once teams arrive in Marrakech, they must find this snake charmer at the marketplace Jemaa El-Fna to find their next clue.** _

"You must take this specific flight." Hajime read, pulling airline tickets out of the clue. He flipped over the clue. "It leaves at four in the morning."

"Looks like we've got a few hours to kill." Chiaki said. "Why don't we do a little sightseeing?"

"_It feels great to finally be in first," Hajime said. "But we're in Paris and we've got A LOT of time to kill. We figured it would be a great chance to relax and enjoy ourselves a bit before rushing our way to Morocco."_

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd to depart, 2:53 PM**

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd to depart, 2:55 PM**

"That's nice of them to give us so much down time to rest," Sayaka said.

"I'm grateful," Kaede said. "We actually get a chance to enjoy Paris."

"I sure hope everyone else is taking advantage of these twelve-plus hours." Makoto said. "I don't know if going straight to the airport is… smart. We're on a free trip to Paris."

* * *

After each team had left in the morning, they had all gathered at a restaurant just as the sun was setting.

"So, how did the leg go for you guys yesterday?" Hajime asked.

"It went… poorly to say the least." Chihiro replied.

"You came in last, right?" Tenko asked. "You have a Speed Bump?"

"Y-yeah," Hina said. "I'm not too worried."

Makoto sipped some coffee as he watched the conversation.

"_Chihiro and Hina have a speed bump today," Makoto said. "Hopefully that's enough cushion for us to get ahead of them. We actually like them quite a bit, we actually like everyone who's left. But at least for us, it's better that they have a disadvantage this leg."_

"Isn't it just nice that we can just get to relax like this in a group?" Himiko asked. "Normally in the Pit Stops we're just holed up in our room sleeping, and we don't really get to talk to each other normally unless we're at an airport"

They all chuckled as they got the rest of their food.

"Let's get back to business…" Nagito said. "Who do you think goes home today?"

"What?" Ibuki asked.

"I asked who you think goes home today!" ]]]]]]]]]]]

"Nagito… we're all friends here. We don't really have any enemies, and that question sounds like an instigator." Shuichi said. "Just let it be."

"But racing when we're all close friends? There's no point! We need enemies! To show that even with the deck stacked against you, hope can overcome despair!"

"Zip it, degenerate! You creep me the hell out sometimes!" Tenko scolded.

After they had eaten (Hina wanted to stay for eclairs), they continued to tour the city for a few more hours before arriving at the airport and checking into their flight.

"We are getting on a plane to Morocco right now," Kaede said. "It's a three hour flight… maybe we should've arrived at the Airport earlier to sleep… but that's fine."

They all filed onto the plane as they reached their seats.

"Bye, Paris!" Sayaka said.

The plane aligned itself with the runway and sped up, ready for takeoff.

* * *

**Marrakech Menara Airport, 7:30 AM**

The teams ran through the early morning light in the Marrakech airport before running outside.

"Taxi!" Kaede shouted, running and leaping inside. "Jemaa El-Fna!"

Their taxi took off.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Kazuichi tugged at his shirt. "Why do we keep going to hot places?"

"Just take off your clothes!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We've got a Speed Bump today," Hina said. "Hopefully it's something that we can easily knock out in five minutes."

"We can overcome it," Chihiro replied. "As long as it doesn't revolve around flipping a blade around."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"I think I see the marketplace," Tenko said. She and Himiko exited their cab. "Wait here, degenerate!" she said, pointing at the taxi driver and laying her backpack in the cab as insurance as she made sure the driver saw.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Tenko?" Himiko asked. "What if he just drives off?"

"I don't have anything too important in there, and I can always buy new clothes somewhere on the race" Tenko replied. "Let's just go."

They ran up to the square. "Oh my god this place is massive," Tenko said.

They ran and passed by a massive sign saying 'Speed Bump' with Hina and Chihiro's face on it, and a clue underneath it. They ignored it and then found a man playing a flute to a snake with his carpet marked with a race symbol.

"Do you have our clue?" Himiko asked. The snake lunged at them as Tenko pulled Himiko backwards, but carefully grabbed the clue that the charmer had handed them.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 1st Place**

They ripped it open and read it. "Roadblock. Who wants to go grocery shopping?"

**[i] Marketplace Scramble**

_ **Jemaa El-Fna is one of the most crowded and famous market places in Marrakech, popular among tourists and locals alike. In this Roadblock, one team member will receive a list of ingredients that they must purchase around the marketplace. Once teams have purchased all of the ingredients, they must deliver them to this marked food stall to receive their next clue.** _

"I'll do this one," Tenko said. She ran up to the nearby food stand, where the chef gave her a list of ingredients.

"That's a lot,"

She looked down at the map which listed: 3kg couscous, 2 jars preserved lemons, 1 liter olive oil, 2kg paprika, 10 onions, 20 heads of garlic, 2 kg olives, 2 kg sesame seeds, 2 kg semolina.

"Semolina? What the hell is that?" Tenko sighed, picking up a leather grocery bag.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the marketplace and ran right past the snake charmer. "Clue box? Where's the clue box?" Miu asked.

"The Speed Bump is here, so we're in the right place," Kazuichi said. "Where the hell is it?"

"Keep looking! It's bound to be here somewhere!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki watched as Miu and Kazuichi rounded the corner around a market stall.

"Where are they going?" Leon asked. He sighed. "Whatever."

The snake charmer handed them the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to go grocery shopping?" Leon said. "How about it?"

"Ibuki thinks you'll be great for this!" Ibuki replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina arrived at the marketplace and almost ran right past their Speed Bump before backing up, taking the clue off its pedestal, and ripping it open.

**[SB] Eat a Delicacy**

_ **For coming in last place in the previous leg, Chihiro and Hina must now complete a Speed Bump, an additional challenge that only they have to complete. In their Speed Bump, they must make their way to this nearby restaurant and eat this local delicacy to be given the OK to continue racing.** _

"Which restaurant?" Hina asked.

"It's that one over there." Chihiro replied, pointing to their left. They ran into the restaurant and sat down, as a waiter brought a plate with a dome cover over it.

"Alright, what are we eating?" Chihiro asked. The waiter pulled up the dome cover to reveal a sheep's head.

"NOO!" Chihiro shouted.

Hina, on the other hand, wasted no time. "Come on. We have to." She began pulling the skin off the face and began peeling meat off before popping it into her mouth.

"It's actually pretty good," Hina said. Chihiro sighed and nervously ripped off some flesh off the other cheek.

"_Alright, the sheep's head was actually very tasty," Chihiro explained. "But the issue was that the head was literally just staring at me. And making me uncomfortable."_

Chihiro stared at the head and took a sip of water.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Their speed bump is gone," Shuichi said. "Hopefully it takes a while,"

"Roadblock," Kaede read. "Who wants to go grocery shopping?"

"I guess I'll do it," Shuichi said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"I'll do it!," Nekomaru said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

"Oh, me! Me!" Sayaka encouraged.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

"I think I should do it, you know, balance out our roadblock count?" Hajime suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea," Chiaki replied.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Where the fuck is the clue box!" Miu screamed. "We are in the right joint, right? "

"Yeah, we saw the Speed Bump sign and I'm pretty sure I saw Tenko running around by the grocery stalls."

**Tenko**

Tenko found an olive stand and talked to the lady who was selling it.. "Hi, can I purchase some olives?"

"How many?"

"I need 2 kilograms."

The lady scooped up some olives and weighed them on a scale before handing it to Tenko.

"That will be 60 dirham."

Tenko counted out 60 moroccan dirham and handed it to the lady. "Have a good day."

She put the olives in her grocery bag and continued running.

**Leon**

"Semolina? What the hell's semolina?"

He walked up to a nearby stand. "Hey, do you have semolina here?"

"أنا لا أتكلم ذلك"

"I have no idea what that means."

"_That marketplace was absolute chaos," Leon explained. "On the list, there were some things like couscous and semolina that I had no idea what they looked like, and the signs in the market were in Arabic or French or Spanish or something like that. The only real way to tell was to ask one of the shopkeepers, but there's no guarantee they know English."_

"Hey Tenko, want to work together?" Leon asked.

"Pfft. Like a degenerate like you would do anything other than mooch off my hard work and never repay me."

"What's that girl's issue?" Leon whispered. Shuichi and Sayaka appeared next to him.

"You can work with us!" Sayaka said. "This is the whole reason we've had that 'alliance' thing going in!"

"Alright," Leon said. "Do either of you know what couscous or semolina is?"

"Semolina is a type of flour," Sayaka replied.

"Couscous kind of looks like a ball version of rice but it's a bit yellower… you know what I mean."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru ran around and picked up two jars of lemons in some kind of brine. "There's no way this is not preserved lemons…"

He tossed them in his bag and continued searching the market.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina continued chowing down on the sheep's head.

"It doesn't matter if I'm grossed out," Hina said. "I have to get this done."

"We've picked half the head clean," Chihiro replied. "This is taking a while."

Hina pulled out the tongue and peeled the outer layer off before eating the rest. "Oh, that is so tender."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Kazuichi opened the clue. "Idiot! It said we need to find a snake charmer!"

"I-Idiot?" Miu asked. "Wait, fuckhead! You were holding the clue so it was your fault!"

"Uaaagh! Please… l-let's just find this charmer." Kazuichi said, gripping his beanie.

**Hajime**

Hajime put a whole bottle of olive oil into his grocery bag and paid the shopkeeper accordingly.

"This place is a nightmare."

**Sayaka, Leon, Shuichi**

The three of them were at a produce stand, each picking out onions and garlic. They paid the shopkeeper, who bagged it and put it in their grocery bags.

"There's a shop with couscous across the road." Shuichi said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 7th Place**

They received their clue from the snake charmer as the snake lunged at Kazuichi.

"Augh!" Kazuichi screamed, backing up.

"Pussy," Miu replied.

Kazuichi looked hurt and ripped it open.

"Roadblock," Miu read. "I'll do it so we can actually get that first place again."

"_I've kind of realized that the only leg that we've won, was the leg that I had done the Roadblock on," Miu said. "So, you know, I kind of put two and two together and banned Kazuichi from doing any more roadblocks on the race."_

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Alright, we're done, we're done, can we get a check?" Hina asked.

The judge walked up to the skull that they've left behind and flipped it around, looking for traces of meat. However, he reached in and pulled the two eyeballs out of their sockets and placed them right in front of Chihiro and Hina. "Eat that and you're done."

Chihiro began gagging and turned away towards a table, pulling a garbage can towards him.

"Oh my god," Hina said. She shook off her disgust and closed her eyes, pinched her nose, and put the eyeball into her mouth as she winced and scrunched her face as she chewed.

"OH IT POPPED!" She screamed, gag reflex initiating. She managed to get it down before gagging and washing it down with more water.

Chihiro eyed the eyeball. He had to do this or else they really would go home today. He quickly shoved it in his mouth, chomped on it a few times, and swallowed before almost choking and leaning over the garbage can.

"You can continue racing," The judge said. They stood up and dashed towards the snake charmer.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Chihiro read. "You should do it."

"Alright," Hina replied.

**Sayaka, Leon, Shuichi**

They had each retrieved a bag of olives from the vendor and put them in their grocery bags.

"What do we have left?" Sayaka asked

"Olive oil, paprika, lemons, sesame seeds, and semolina." Leon replied.

**Tenko**

Tenko tripped over a random crack in the road and dropped all of her ingredients.

"Dammit!" She said, leaning over to put it back into the bag. She picked up the jar of preserved lemons to see that it was cracked and the brine was all pouring out onto the floor.

"Ugh," she said. "I'm gonna have to buy another."

**Miu**

Miu put all of the garlic and onions into the bag. "That's that…"

**Hina**

Hina bought a moroccan donut from a vendor and munched on it while walking around the marketplace.

"This is good," Hina said, running up to a stand with the onions and garlic.

**Hajime**

"Everything's in Arabic, I don't know what this semolina stuff is," Hajime said. He approached someone who looked like a tourist. "Hi, do you speak English?"

"A bit?"

"Can I borrow your phone?"

The man gave Hajime his phone as he began searching up semolina and preserved lemons.

"Semolina is flour… and preserved lemons is what it sounds like."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru bought an apple and bit into it. "Do you know where I can get paprika?"

The vendor shook his head. "Dammit!"

**Sayaka, Leon, Shuichi**

"This bag is getting heavy," Sayaka said.

"Tough it out!" Leon replied. "It's not too bad."

**Tenko**

"Do you have paprika?"

The vendor nodded and handed her a bag of red powder.

**Nekomaru**

"Why can't I find any paprika in this market? THIS IS INEXCUSABLE!"

**Hajime**

"Is this semolina?" Hajime asked. The vendor nodded and handed him a bag of semolina.

"This is 2 kilograms."

"Alright, thank you."

**Miu**

"I need some fucking semolina!"

The vendor nodded and gave Miu a bottle of what looked like some kind of fish paste.

"Is this semolina?"

"No english."

Miu shrugged and gave the vendor some cash.

**Sayaka, Leon, Shuichi**

After the vendors had given each of them a 2-kilo bag of paprika, they had all sprinted for the marked food stand as they handed over their grocery bags.

In exchange, the judge handed over three clues.

"Great job!" Makoto shouted

"WOOO!" Ibuki shouted

"You guys did great!" Kaede yelled, ripping open the clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

**[i] Proceed to: Tea Shop**

_ **Teams must now make their way on foot to this tea shop to receive their next clue.** _

"Let's go ask someone." Kaede said.

"Hey," Makoto asked. "Do you know where this tea shop is?"

The person pulled out his phone and began typing. "It's very close. Just go that way, then right at the next side route."

"Thank you," Shuichi replied.

**Hina**

"I do not feel so good after eating that eyeball…" Hina said. "I can still taste it!"

Hina walked up to a stand selling flour and semolina as she pointed at the semolina. "2 Kilos."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru ran right past a stand that was selling various powders and spices. He saw it out of the corner of his eye and turned around.

"Aha! Paprika!"

The vendor scooped some into a bag and gave it to Nekomaru, who immediately ran to the food stand and handed in his ingredients.

"It's good," the judge said, reaching inside his coat and pulling out a clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"Are we going to taste some tea?" Nagito asked.

**Tenko**

After Tenko had picked up her bag of semolina, she ran through the market back to the food stand, where the judge handed her the clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede ran in front of the two other teams and right in front of the tea shop, where their cluebox awaited them.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Taste some tea" Shuichi read.

**[i] Tea Tasting**

_ **Moroccan Mint Tea is Morocco's national beverage. Now, teams must search through the five hundred teapots in this tea shop that contains Moroccan Mint Tea. Once they bring a teapot full of mint tea to the shop owner, teams will receive their next clue. However, if they pour a glass of a liquid that is not Moroccan Mint Tea, teams must drink the glass before they continue searching.** _

Shuichi and Kaede ran into the tea shop as Shuichi picked up a teacup. Kaede picked up the nearest teapot as she poured it into the cup.

"Milk?" Shuichi asked. He shrugged and chugged it, face scrunching up. "Oh, that is _not_ milk. Blaugh!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

Makoto and Sayaka arrived, working their way from the other end of the tea shop. Makoto poured a teacup and drank it. "That's just hot water."

"_Now, these teapots weren't just filled with tea." Sayaka said. "They were filled with all sorts of things."_

Sayaka poured a glass of some kind of juice as she chugged it. "This is going to take a while."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

Ibuki began pouring Leon a cup of some kind of beverage as he chugged it, then spat it out. "Oh god, what is that? Is it vinegar?"

Ibuki poured it and chugged it, also spitting it out. "Yup. Vinegar!"

"I don't really get you sometimes..." Leon said.

**Hina**

Hina took a swig of water as she continued running around the marketplace. "Dammit, everything's in a language I don't know! How do you read these literal scribbles!"

**Hajime**

Hajime traded in some of the money for a jar of lemons. "I think I have everything,"

He dashed through the marketplace and ran right into Hina.

"Oh… sorry about that." Hajime said.

"Don't worry about it. By the way… can you tell me where to find this semolina and couscous stuff?"

"The semolina is right over there," Hajime pointed. "And couscous, you have to go straight, turn left, and is three stalls down on your right."

"Alright, thank you!" Hina replied.

"_To be fair, it might not have been the smartest decision to help the team with the biggest disadvantage, but we do owe them for U-turning Celeste and Akane on leg 3 and knocking them out of the Race." Hajime said._

Hajime continued running and reached the chef at the food stand. He handed the chef the bag as the chef gave him the clue.

Hajime ran back over to Chiaki as she clapped a little.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Sorry, we're kind of behind," Hajime said.

"It's alright." Chiaki replied. "We can make up some time at the Detour."

**Miu**

Miu ran up to the chef and handed him the bag. The chef shook his head as he handed the bag back.

"What?" She asked. "What the fuck's wrong?"

The chef shook his head and held up a hand, basically saying 'get out out here'.

Miu looked at her bag. "I have everything!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

The Lucky Student and the Team Manager rushed into the tea shop. Nagito poured the first pot as hot, steaming tea came out. He took a sip and then ran to the shop owner, who handed him the clue.

"What. The. Hell." Leon said, amazed.

"It's just my luck," Nagito replied. "I'd think you'd be used to it, Makoto. After all, our dumb luck is the reason us insignificant pieces of trash got into this school!"

"I don't ever feel like I have _that_ much luck. I just won a raffle." Makoto replied, slightly hurt that Nagito looped them together and collectively called them trash. Nagito stopped waiting for a response and opened his clue next to Nekomaru.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Detour." Nekomaru read. "Carpet or Ceramic?"

**[D] Carpet**

_ **Moroccan carpets are one of Morocco's most famous goods, created by the Moroccan Berber tribes. In this Detour, teams will travel to this carpet shop, filled with over 1000 carpets. Picking up a sample square of a carpet from the cashier, teams will have to find the carpet that matches the small, sample square, and turn them into the cashier to receive their next clue.** _

**[D] Ceramic**

_ **For centuries, Moroccans have made these amazing ceramics. Now, teams will learn from the best. Using this manual spinning wheel, teams must shape these wads of clay into twenty acceptable clay pots. Once these pots have been molded and approved, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"We should do the carpet," Nagito said. "I have faith my luck will continue."

"Well… if you say so," Nekomaru replied. "I have to shit. Does this place have a bathroom?"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto poured another cup as a brownish liquid came out. "That smells like tea!" Makoto said. He took a sip and nodded.

Sayaka ran over to the shop owner as they traded the pot for the clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Let's do the carpet challenge," Makoto said. "Twenty pots seems like way too long."

"But we're just going to be running around and searching! Not to mention that we don't know how large that shop is."

"Alright, let's just do the carpet challenge, but we can switch if it takes too long," Makoto said. They agreed and ran out of the shop. "Good luck, guys!"

Their alliance members looked back and thanked him.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

After Makoto and Sayaka left, Kaede sighed. Then, she noticed they were alone with their weakest alliance member.

"Shuichi," Kaede whispered. "We have to get rid of the Express Pass. Let's give it to Leon and Ibuki."

"Leon and Ibuki?" Shuichi asked.

"_We were told that when we won the double Express Pass, we had to give the second one away on or before leg 5, which is today." Kaede explained. "I felt like we would give it to Leon and Ibuki. We figured that we would either give it to them or Makoto and Sayaka because they're part of our alliance, and we felt like Leon and Ibuki were a weaker team who could use it better."_

"Leon!" Shuichi said.

"What's up?" Leon asked.

Shuichi held up the Express Pass. "Want this?"

"The Express Pass?" Ibuki asked. "Yes! Yes!"

Shuichi handed the Express Pass over to Leon. "Don't tell anyone you have it."

"We weren't planning on it," Leon replied. "Thanks, though."

_Ibuki held up the Express Pass and screamed. "We got it!"_

"_This is a lot of leverage," Leon said. "We could skip any challenge. That's a huge advantage that could potentially win the race for us."_

**Miu**

Miu ran up to a tourist. "Can you search some things up for me?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Search up preserved lemons, semolina, and couscous."

**Hina**

Hina ran around the market, searching for preserved lemons. "What are those things?"

"_Now, Hajime helped me a lot by telling me where to find the couscous and semolina, so I only had these Preserved Lemons left. But I didn't know what they were."_

"What is that?" Hina asked. She ran up to a stand and picked up the fresh lemons. "No, no, no these aren't preserved!"

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 5th Place**

They ran in and began pouring teapots and drinking. "Pfft!" Himiko spat. "That's terrible! What is that!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Oh! I got it!" Kaede shouted, pouring tea into a cup. She took a sip and passed the teapot to the judge.

"This is good tea!" Kaede said.

"Kaede! Focus!" Shuichi said, ripping open the clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"I think we should do the ceramics," Shuichi said. "1000 carpets is too low of a chance."

**Miu**

After looking up the ingredients, Miu looked at the bottle of fish paste. "Dammit!"

She ran into the market and began searching for the real semolina. "Dumbass vendor gave me this paste or some kind. Stupid bitch."

**Hina**

Hina handed in her bag as the judge gave her the clue.

**Hina and Chihiro: Currently in 7th Place**

"Great job, Hina! You're not last, even with that Speed Bump!"

"Thanks," Hina replied. "Let's get to this tea shop."

Kazuichi said nothing and watched the market as Miu ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.

"Come on, Miu!" Kazuichi murmured.


	10. Leg 5.2

**Leg 5.2**

* * *

**Miu**

Miu continued running around the market. "Semolina? Semolina?"

She ran back to the market stall that she got the fish paste from. "Hi, hi, I need to return this."

"No english."

"I give you this, and you give me my money back!"

"No english."

"Fucking dumbass!"

Miu turned to a local. "Hey! Bitch!"

"Me?" the local asked.

"You speak English?"

**(Obligatory reminder that for the sake of the nature of this fic, the characters as well as all of Japan will speak English)**

"Yes."

"Do you speak Arabic too?"

"Yes."

"Can you come with me?"

Miu brought the translator over to the vendor. "Tell her that I need a refund on this bottle."

The local conversed with the vendor as she forked over the bottle of fish paste as she grabbed the money back. "Ask her if she has semolina."

The vendor nodded and handed her a bag of semolina. "Was that so fucking hard? No!"

She ran back to the chef and handed him the entire bag. "If you cunts don't accept it now… I'll lose my shit!"

"It's good."

The chef gave her the clue as she sprinted back over to Kazuichi.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in Last Place**

"What gives?" Kazuichi asked.

"Shut the fuck up. I tried my best," Miu replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon was pouring some tea as he dropped the whole pot on the ground, which sprayed his foot with hot tea.

"Augh!" he shouted. "Wait… that's mint."

He picked up the teapot as he poured it into the cup, taking a sip. "Ibuki, we've got it! Let's go!"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Ibuki thinks we should do pottery." Ibuki said.

"Yeah, but we don't know how picky they are on the judging."

"But wouldn't looking through a thousand carpets take just as long? Ugh… Ibuki can't take looking through things for hours!"

"You have a point. Fine, let's do pottery."

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko drank a cup of what seemed to be some kind of paprika-chili blend as she opened her mouth and panted. She desperately poured another teacup, hoping for some kind of milk or something sweet to help calm it down, but she instead got lemon juice, which she chugged and then coughed.

"Tenko?" Himiko asked. "Are you alright?"

"Himiko… I'm fine…" she replied, bent over and coughing.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Tenko, are you alright?" Hajime asked.

"I'm fine, degenerate." she replied.

"Well… alright," Hajime replied. He picked up a pot and put it back down.

"_Once we got to the shop, we got a strategy." Hajime said. "It looked like the teapots with the tea were eliminated from the pool as teams found them and turned them in. The pots that teams have already gone through were partially empty."_

_Chiaki took on the role. "The teapots were initially filled to the brim, so by picking it up and comparing weights or listening to the amount of liquid sloshing, we could avoid drinking around half of them and just move on to the ones that no one has touched yet."_

Chiaki picked up a teapot and shook it around, side to side to hear that there was enough sloshing to indicate that at least two teams had gone through it. She set it down and moved on, as Hajime was doing the same on the other end of the room.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Is this the carpet shop?" Nekomaru asked as the driver nodded.

"We need you to stay here. I doubt this will take long." Nagito said. They got out just as Makoto and Sayaka's cab pulled up.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"There's Nagito and Nekomaru! We caught up!" Makoto said. He ran into the carpet shop with Sayaka.

"Oh my lord this place is massive."

The size of the shop was around half of a professional soccer field with all the walls stacked top to bottom with folded carpets, several hanging carpets on ropes around the store, carpets on the floor… It was a nightmare.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru ran up to the shop owner as he gave them a small square of cut up carpet.

"_Now, the piece of carpet that we were given was around a sixteenth of the size of the carpet." Nagito explained. "As such, it only had part of the design, and we had to figure out which carpet matched the design we had on our square."_

Nagito ran into the middle of the store and randomly began pulling down carpets.

"Nagito… slow down…. You'll miss something if you start at the center." Nekomaru said.

Nagito pulled out a carpet and matched it to the carpet squares, and then ran up to the cashier who handed him the clue.

"Got it!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Oh come on, what the hell!" Makoto shouted.

"Maybe if Makoto is truly a lucky student… you guys could catch up to us and possibly win the leg." Nagito said. "But if not… we deserve this."

"I'm amazed at it myself," Nekomaru replied. Nagito ripped the clue open.

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop." Nagito read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Jardin Majorelle**

_ **Teams will now end this leg of the race at Marrakech's Jardin Majorelle, a garden filled with exotic plants and bright colors. The last team to check in here may be eliminated.** _

"Let's finally get a first place in this competition!" Nekomaru shouted, running outside and hopping into their taxi cab.

"Jardin Majorelle," Nekomaru said.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto got his carpet square, which was beige and had red diagonal lines with right-angle turns.

"I cannot believe that guy's luck! I know I have this supposed 'luck' too, but I just won a raffle!" Makoto said. "Whatever. Let's just focus on this so we can catch up to them."

Sayaka sighed and began going through the rugs. "This is insane."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede ran into the pottery shop as they saw the demonstration for the clay. The instructor was in a hole in the ground working with the equipment at torso level. The wheel began to spin as the instructor slapped a wad of clay on it and wet his hands. He then smoothed out the edges as he created a slight indent in the middle. His hands grabbed the edges of the pot and pulled it upwards, stretching it up and thinning out the sides, as well as making the hole in the center bigger. Reaching inside the pot, he caused the middle of the pot to bulge out slightly, then used a paintbrush to create a thick white line on the side. He then used a knife or a blade to slice the bottom of the pot off the wheel and set it to the side.

"That seems… doable." Kaede said. She and Kaede got into two pottery stations and descended into the little holes before grabbing the clay.

"Uhh… how do I make it spin?"

Shuichi looked around and then looked in the hole. "Oh. You have to spin it manually with your foot I think."

He rotated it with his foot as the wheel in front of it spun. "Yup."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Tea!" Chiaki said, pouring and downing the glass of tea. They exchanged it for their clue.

"Thank you!" Hajime said, ripping the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"Detour. Carpets or Ceramic?" Chiaki read.

"I think we should do ceramics," Hajime said. "A thousand carpets will take us forever."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"I'm going to use my maaaagic to find the right teapot." Himiko said. She waved her hands around and picked up a random pot, and poured it to find tea.

"Wow! You're amazing, Himiko!"

They turned it into the 'degenerate' shopkeeper as he handed them their clue.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 6th Place**

"Detour. Carpet or Ceramics?" Himiko read.

"Let's do the carpets." Tenko said.

"Eh? Why?" Himiko asked. "That's going to take forever."

"My hands are made for fighting and throwing around degenerates. I can't do something nimble like that. Remember the bagels in Montreal?"

"Fine."

Just as Tenko and Himiko left, Chihiro and Hina came running in.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 7th Place**

"Drink tea?" Hina asked. "I'm already so full from that Speed Bump…"

"Let's just wash down that eyeball with some tea." Chihiro replied. "It's not a big deal."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"This is tedious," Sayaka said. "How long have we been here?"

"It's only been fifteen minutes," Makoto replied, staring up at the clock.

"It feels like it's been forever," Sayaka said. "I think we should switch."

"No, I want to stay here. We've gone through quite a bit of these."

"Makoto!"

"Twenty pots has got to take at least forty-five minutes. We can do this before then!"

"But if we miss one, this could easily take us at least two hours!"

"We just have to make sure we don't miss one!"

"Makoto! You said we'd switch if it took too long!"

"I don't think it's been that long."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi wet his hands and spun around the piece of clay at a constant speed, thinning the sides.

"How are you doing over there, Kaede?" Shucihi asked.

"Uhh… not so good," Kaede replied. She was spinning the wheel at a kind of staggered speed, which caused the pot to be a bit uneven.

"_The pottery challenge was difficult because you had to spin the wheel with your foot," Kaede explained. The issue was that it was difficult to spin it at a constant speed. Mine would slow down until I spun it again, where it would speed up again. The fluctuations in speed made things slightly disproportionate."_

She narrowed the walls so much that it ended up collapsing over itself. "Gah!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki walked into the pottery shop. "Alright, how do we do this?" Leon asked. They watched the demo as Shuichi and Kaede looked up.

"It's really hard!" Kaede said.

"Don't worry about it. Just let them try," Shuichi replied.

Leon and Ibuki went to their stations and descended into the holes in the floor.

"Wow! Ibuki thinks this is cool!"

"How do I turn it?" Leon asked, looking for some kind of electric mechanism.

"There's a disk on the bottom. You turn it with your foot." Shuichi replied.

"Foot?" Ibuki asked. "That's weird."

"Alright, Ibuki, let's get this done," Leon said, spinning the disk with his foot.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina chugged a glass of lemon juice and spit it out. "That's terrible. This is terrible… I have to pee…"

"We must've gone through at least half of these," Chihiro said, pouring a glass of camel milk and chugging it down.

"Look who's here, bitches!" Miu shouted from the entryway.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 8th Place**

"Find the teapot with moroccan mint tea," Kazuichi said. "That… seems okay actually."

"Not the most exciting thing I've done…" Miu replied. They rushed in and began pouring teapots. Miu poured one and drank it.

"Pfft! That fuckin' tastes like latex!"

"How do you even know what late- never mind."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Look, Himiko, aren't these carpets gorgeous?"

"Nyeh… let's just do the challenge and get out of here." Himiko nyehed.

"Hey, girls!" Makoto shouted.

"Tch. Degenerate."

Makoto shut up and continued looking through the rugs.

"_Though there were some hanging on racks like you'd see with clothing, most of the rugs at this store were folded up and stacked on top of each other. You'd have to unstack the entire pile just to get to those." Makoto explained._

"Makoto, can we switch now?" Sayaka asked. "I'm getting really frustrated."

Makoto pulled out a carpet and sighed. "Fine. We'll swi- never mind."

He held up the carpet and the carpet sample, which was a perfect match.

"We got it! Let's go!" Makoto shouted. Sayaka ran over to him as they slapped the carpet onto the front desk, who exchanged it for their clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Jardin Majorelle." Makoto read. They ran out of the shop and got into their taxi.

"You know, Makoto, you need to listen to me sometimes." Sayaka said. "I know that we got through this one faster, but you need to actually, like, take my opinions into consideration. I didn't feel like you were listening to what I was saying, just refuting whatever I argued. Just in the future, think about what I have to say."

"Alright, alright, sorry," Makoto replied. "I guess I just felt like we had to beat Nagito and Nekomaru and maybe I could really be as lucky as Nagito."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

The taxi pulled up to its destination.

"This is the garden?" Nekomaru asked.

"Yes. Jardin Majorelle."

They got out and ran into the garden.

"Monokuma! Where are you?" Nagito shouted. Monokuma and the Pit Stop mat awaited them.

"Nagito and Nekomaru," Monokuma said. "You are team number ONE!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st Place**

"Yeah! You go, Nagito!" Nekomaru shouted.

"No, this is all you! Like worthless trash like me could beat out you ultimates on my own!"

"Don't say that about you, Nagito! Your luck essentially won this leg for us!"

"It's just my luck…"

"Well…" Monokuma interrupted. "For winning this leg of the race, you have won a trip for four to London, which you can enjoy after the race."

"That sounds great, Monokuma," Nekomaru said. "Perfect for team bonding!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki arrived to the pottery challenge.

"This place looks cozy," Chiaki said. "Where's the demo?"

They looked around until they saw the Moroccan man making pots. "Alright. Show us the magic." Hajime said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Kaede stuck a knife in the bottom of her sixth pot and spun the wheel around so it would auto slice. She pulled off the pot from the wheel and set it aside.

"I've got six, how many do you have, Shuichi?"

"I think I have around nine or ten." Shuichi replied.

"You're fast at this," Kaede said.

"_For someone who uses her hands a lot, I would think I'd be better at precise movements," Kaede explained. "But I've kind of learned that I have poor fine motor skills when it comes to anything other than piano."_

Kaede grabbed another glob of clay and tried to smack it on the wheel, but it got stuck to her hand as she pathetically shook it to try to get it off.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Both of them were spinning their wheels quickly and churning out pots left and right.

"I think we're going to pass Shuichi and Kaede at this rate!" Ibuki shouted.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Mmm…" Chihiro said. "Gatorade."

"Oh, give me some?" Hina asked. Chihiro poured her a teacup full of gatorade as they both drank it.

"Sports drinks. Great for computer users and athletes alike."

"Alright, we should focus," Chihiro replied, stifling a few laughs. They continued going down the line of teapots.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"I have to take a piss now…" Miu said. "Be right back. Feel free to jack off while I'm gone. Just make sure to show me the tissue!"

Kazuichi sighed, facepalmed, and continued drinking, then began gagging on some kind of warm smoothie. He ran outside and hurled.

"Uhh… gross… at least I'm not full anymore, though."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Oh, Himiko, if we just narrow them down by color, it should be easier! Just look at the only ones that are blue!"

"Nyeh… well a lot of these carpets are at the bottom of a big stack."

"Don't worry about it! Just unstack them and then stack them back up when you check!"

"What a pain."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Looks like that spins that," Hajime says, spinning the wheel with his foot.

"What?" Chiaki asked.

"Oh, you have to spin the wheel with your feet."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka ran into the garden and through the exotic plants to land on the Pit Stop mat with Monokuma.

"Makoto and Sayaka," Monokuma said. "You team number two, but how are you feeling? Three second places in a row? When are you going to get that gold medal?"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd Place**

"It doesn't matter how many gold medals we win as long as we win that trophy at the end." Makoto said. "But still… hopefully soon. Haha."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think Leon and Ibuki are passing us," Kaede said.

"Don't think about them. Let's just think about us." Shuichi replied. "We're almost done."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Don't rush it," Chiaki said, wetting her hands to put on the clay. "It's better to go slower than rush and have to redo a bunch of them."

"I can see that," Hajime replied, indenting the middle of a wad of clay and pulling it upwards to form walls. "That's really satisfying."

"I agree."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Oh, I think I've got it!" Hina said. She poured a glass of tea and chugged it, jogging over to the judge who handed them their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 7th Place**

"Detour. Carpet or Ceramics?" Chihiro read.

"I think we should do the ceramics," Hina replied. "You've worked with tiny units like this that you need to be nimble with, right?"

"Yeah… circuits." Chihiro said.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"That tastes like dog cum!" Miu shouted.

"I'm not even going to ask," Kazuichi replied. "Damn! How long have we been here? This is seriously pissing me off!"

"At least thirty seconds."

"Stop screwing with me! Just give me a straight answer!"

"EEK! U… uh…. Around thirty minutes." she whimpered, looking up at the clock.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Can we get a check?" Leon asked. A judge walked up and looked at their twenty ceramic pots on the floor.

"How'd they get done so quickly?" Kaede asked.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Shuichi replied, staring intently. "They're not leaving anytime soon."

The judge left the shop and came back with a sledgehammer.

"Oh, no," Leon said.

He walked around, inspecting each pot. He pulled twelve out and squashed them underneath the sledgehammer.

"That would've been a lot more dramatic if these were fired and glazed," Ibuki said.

"We have only eight?" Leon asked in a mixture of shock and frusturation. "Argh."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Nyeh… this is a huge pain," Himiko said, checking the carpets hanging from the ceiling.

"I bet a degenerate designed this challenge," Tenko replied. "We've checked the entire store! Why can't we find it!"

"We must've missed something," Himiko replied. "It's gonna be a huge pain to check every carpet again."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Can we get a check?" Kaede asked. The judge walked around their pots on the floor, sledgehammer in hand.

"It's good," he said, handing Shuichi and Kaede a small, unopenable ceramic sphere.

"What do we do with this?" Kaede asked. "Is this our clue?"

"Do we just smash it?" Shuichi asked. He looked around on it. "There's nothing that signifies the outside is a clue. Let's just chuck it."

He smashed it on the floor, causing pieces to shatter everywhere and their next clue to flutter out.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Jardin Majorelle. The last team to check in may be eliminated." Shuichi read. "Come on, let's go!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Can we get a check?" Hajime asked. The judge picked up two of their pots and chucked them on the ground, finishing them off with the hammer.

"Only two, huh?" Chiaki said. "Oh, well. Not a big deal."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Stupid! This challenge is stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Leon raged.

"Ibuki is concerned." Ibuki said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We are on our way to this pottery shop," Chihiro explained. "Hopefully the judging isn't too harsh,"

"It seems like it's rather out of the way, too," Hina said. "We've been driving for a while, and I really have no idea if we're going to the right place or not."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"I got it!" Kazuichi exclaimed, running up to the shopowner to exchange it for their clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in Last Place**

"Detour. Carpet or Ceramics?" Kazuichi read.

"Heh… Carpet." Miu joked. "Let's do that one."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"This is so boring that it's painful…" Himiko said. "I wish I had enough mana to magic my way out of this."

"Don't worry, Himiko! We'll find it soon enough!"

Himiko backed up and fell through a pair of curtains. "Uhh… Tenko?"

"What is it, Himiko? Oh… you look so cute when you're surprised!"

"Tenko? There's a second room over here."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We're done remaking those two!" Chiaki said. The judge walked up to them and gave them the OK, and handed them the ceramic sphere. They busted it on the ground as they picked up the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Hajime read.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Here we are!" Kaede cheered. They ran outside. "Where's the entrance?"

"It's over there!" Shuichi pointed. They crossed the street, as Kaede almost got hit by a car.

"Uagh!" Kaede screamed, clinging onto Shuichi.

"Stupid foreign teens!" the driver shouted.

"Kaede, be careful! I don't want to have to work on another case today!"

"Sorry," Kaede replied. They held hands and ran into the garden, and jumped onto the Pit Stop mat.

"Shuichi and Kaede, you are team number three." Monokuma said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd Place**

"Alright, we'll take it!" Shuichi said.

"It's amazing how well we're doing," Kaede said. "As of now, almost halfway through the race, we have yet to finish below fourth."

"Hopefully that doesn't change." Shuichi replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Here we are!" Chihiro said, running into the pottery shop where Leon and Ibuki greeted them.

"Good nomnomnomming!" Ibuki said.

"Hi," Hina replied. "How do we do this?"

They got up to watch the demo, but it was halfway done already and they arrived in the middle of it, visibly confused.

"Uhhh…."

**Ibuki and Leon**

"Can we get a check now?" Leon asked. The judge arrived and yeeted four of them out the window.

"You have a hammer." Ibuki said. "Use it!"

"It's no fun that way." the judge replied. "Do it again!"

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"There's no denying that we're in last place," Miu said. "Hopefully we can catch some of these teams with their pants down at this Detour."

"We'll see…" Kazuichi replied. "All we can do is hope. Damn… I sound like Nagito."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number four.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 4th Place**

"Alright, so we couldn't do as well as yesterday, but that's alright." Hajime said. "We're still in this, and we can always redeem ourselves in the future.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Alright, we've checked everything in here. We absolutely must've missed something." Tenko said.

"Do you mean we'll have to check literally every single carpet here again?" Himiko asked. "What a huge, huge, pain!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Can we get a check now?" Ibuki asked. The judge arrived and gave them a thumbs' up as they chucked the ceramic sphere at the floor, revealing their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 5th Place**

"Good luck, you two!" Ibuki said, leaving Chihiro and Hina behind in the shop.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think we're making up good time." Chihiro said. "We've got half of them done. This isn't too hard."

"We'll see when they get checked," Hina replied. "Hopefully we can beat Miu and Kazuichi. I don't know where they are, if they're at the other Detour, if they're still at the tea shop, if they're lost… I hope they're lost."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi made their way into the carpet shop, where Tenko and Himiko were.

"Why are you two still here?" Miu asked.

"We can't find it," Tenko replied. "We have no choice but to keep scanning the store."

Kazuichi got their carpet square, a yellow carpet with black stripes, as they began searching through the shop.

"This place is massive," Kazuichi said.

"Unlike your dick."

"Hey!"

**Tenko and Himiko**

"It's official. I hate Morocco," Tenko said, sweating from the 1AM heat as they continued going through the carpets.

"Why don't these places have air conditioning?" Himiko complained.

"We must've wasted an hour here," Tenko said. "This was a poor decision."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "You are team number FIVE."

**Leon and Ibuki: 5th Place**

"We're still in it." Leon said, hi-fiving Ibuki.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Kazuichi pulled out a yellow carpet and examined it. "Is this it?" he asked. Miu still had the carpet square.

"Hang on, gimme a second," Miu replied, running around the shop to where Kazuichi was. "That's it!"

"Are you kidding me?" Tenko asked. Miu and Kazuichi ran up to the cashier and handed him the carpet.

"Nice job," The judge said, handing Miu the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 6th Place**

"Fuck yeah!" Miu shouted. "Later, lesbos!"

"Shut up!" Tenko shouted. "You're just like a degenerate."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Can we get a check?" Hina asked. The judge walked up to them and smashed in three of the pots.

"The rest are good." the judge said.

"I'm going to implode." Hina said. "I can't take this stress."

Chihiro rubbed his nose with the back of his wrist. "It's not over till it's over. We don't know if Miu and Kazuichi are ahead of us. Let's just knock out this challenge as fast as possible, kay?"

**Tenko and Himiko**

"I don't understand," Himiko said. "We checked everywhere. Why can't we find it?"

Tenko sighed and pointed her face upwards, wiping off sweat from heat and stress.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"We know that Tenko and Himiko are for sure behind us," Miu said. "As long as our taxi doesn't suck, I'm sure we'll be able to stick in this."

Their taxi pulled up to the garden as they paid his fare.

"Come on, Soda, let's go end this leg!" Miu said.

They ran together and jumped onto the Pit Stop mat.

"Miu and Kazuichi," Monokuma said. "You are team number six."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 6th Place**

"Oh… oh… thank god." Kazuichi said, between breaths.

**Tenko and Himiko**

Tenko sighed and looked through her area again, starting from the beginning. The first carpet that she pulled out looked… familiar. She checked it with the carpet square, and noted it was a match.

"Are you kidding me." Tenko said. "Literally the first place I checked both times. How did I miss it?"

They traded the carpet for their clue as they ran outside.

**Tenko and Himiko: Currently in 7th Place**

"Sorry, Himiko." Tenko said. "I was careless."

"No…" Himiko said. "It's not that big a deal. I went through that area too. I missed it too. You tried hard."

"NEEEE! Himiko praised me!"

"Okay… that's enough. We just need to get a cab now."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We've remade them!" Chihiro said. The judge nodded and handed Chihiro and Hina the sphere, which they smashed against the wall.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Chihiro read. They ran outside and got into their cab.

"Jardin Majorelle." Hina read.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"Why did we let our cab go?" Tenko asked, trying to hail one to no avail.

"That was a poor choice… it's my fault." Himiko said.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Himiko!" Tenko praised. She raised her hand as a cab arrived in front of them.

"Jardin Majorelle." Tenko read. The driver nodded as they hopped into the back.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Where are you going?" Chihiro asked.

"I need gas," the driver said.

"You still have like a quarter of a tank left!" Chihiro protested.

"Better safe than sorry," the driver replied. Hina put hands around the bridge of her nose.

"This is a nightmare."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"We're on our way to the Pit Stop now," Tenko said. "Maybe there is someone at the other Detour who is still behind? We're not sure."

"Hopefully there's a team behind us," Himiko said. "But no guarantee. If I had enough mana, I could increase the odds"

"Oh, Himiko, you have to show me that when we get home!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Alright, we have gas now, can we go?" Hina urgently asked.

"Alright, alright, what's the rush?" the driver asked.

"We're in a race for 100 million yen. Do you know how many cabs you can buy with that?" Hina asked.

"How many dirham?" the driver asked. Hina looked at Chihiro.

"Nine million Dirham." Chihiro replied.

"Oh, that's a lot. Well… got to get you there fast, huh? Sorry."

**Tenko and Himiko**

"We've stopped. Why are we stopped? This isn't a garden, it's a hotel!"

The driver ran outside and into the hotel to ask for directions.

"Does he not have google?" Tenko asked. The driver ran back outside and into the drivers' seat as they were off again.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We're getting close. I can feel it." Hina said.

**Tenko and Himiko**

"There's the garden. That's the garden, right?" Himiko asked.

* * *

Monokuma awaited as a cab pulled up to the entrance and a team ran outside, landing on the Pit Stop mat.

"Tell us the bad news," Chihiro said. "We're in last, right?"

"Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma announced. "The last team to arrive… is approaching now."

They turned around as a cab pulled up and Tenko and Himiko filed out of it, dashing to the Pit Stop mat. Hina collapsed to the ground in relief.

"Thank god," Chihiro said.

"Chihiro and Hina, you are still in this race, you are team number seven." Monokuma said.

**Chihiro and Hina: 7th Place**

"Tenko and Himiko, you know what that means."

They nodded solemnly.

"Tenko and Himiko, I am sorry to say that you are unfortunately the last team to arrive, and that you have officially been eliminated from the race.

**Tenko and Himiko: Eliminated**

"We had a feeling," Tenko said. "We blasted what, ninety minutes on that Detour?"

"At least I got to race with my friend." Himiko said, hugging Tenko's waist. Tenko laughed and pat the back of her head.

"We may not've made it that far, but we got to go to five different countries and do these amazing things. I still wish we would've gone farther, but I have no regrets." Tenko said. "Besides checking those carpets thoroughly."

Hina and Chihiro waved goodbye as they walked away from the Pit Stop mat.

_ **Please continue for a sneak peek of the next leg.** _

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Nagito and Nekomaru

2nd: Makoto and Sayaka

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th: Hajime and Chiaki

5th: Leon and Ibuki

6th: Miu and Kazuichi

7th: Chihiro and Hina

_ **Eliminated: Tenko and Himiko** _

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.40

Nagito and Nekomaru: 2.80

Makoto and Sayaka: 3.80

Hajime and Chiaki: 4.60

Miu and Kazuichi: 5.40

Leon and Ibuki: 5.40

Chihiro and Hina: 6.00

_ **Tenko and Himiko: 6.80** _

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Nagito 3, Nekomaru 3

Makoto 3, Sayaka 3

Shuichi 3, Kaede 3

Hajime 3, Chiaki 3

Leon 3, Ibuki 3

Miu 3, Kazuichi 3

Chihiro 3, Hina 3

_ **Tenko 3, Himiko 3** _

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

"_I LOVE ATHENS!" Ibuki shouted._

The final seven race through Greece as they face an ancient Roadblock.

_*Shuichi sword fighting in a Greek toga, sword clashing against a shield*_

"_Damn," he said._

There, rifts begin to separate the teams.

"_We've noticed that there's a bit of an alliance between three of the teams," Nagito said. "We don't like that."_

"_Nagito is giving me really bad vibes." Sayaka said._

And Leon and Ibuki reach a breaking point.

"_No, Ibuki is telling you needed to take a right." Ibuki said._

"_That's not right! It's a one way road! Use your head!"_

Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**A/N: And that's a wrap on Leg 5! After next leg, I plan to be doing an Elimination Station, a chapter devoted to the eliminated teams and what happened after they were eliminated. In these Elimination Stations, I'm willing to do a few Q&A questions for the cast (if any of you are willing to submit questions via PM or reviews). Use this format when submitting questions:**

**Q&A for (Team Name)**

**(Question)**

**Keep in mind that only eliminated teams will be responding. I will also do a second edition after leg 11, right before the finale. However, even the final three will be asked questions via interview. But if you have questions for me, don't be afraid to shoot me a PM or leave me a comment!**

**I do plan to make a Season 2 with the characters that I have shunned from the first season (Minus Korekiyo because he's creepy and Byakuya because there is absolutely no reason he would want to go on.) I have not planned it yet, but if you want to suggest locations and challenges to me for then, go ahead. I do not plan to reuse any countries, however.**

**If you want me to spoil the route so you have places you're looking forwards to, shoot me a PM. That's as much as I'm willing to spoil.**

**Please keep in mind that I will continue to split up each Race leg into two parts, except the finale. The finale will be one 9-10k+ word chapter so you don't get left on a cliffhanger.**

**Alright, that's it, toodles!**


	11. Leg 6.1

**Leg 6.1**

* * *

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Eight teams raced through Marrakech, Morocco where Chihiro and Hina had a delectable Speed Bump.

_Alright, what are we eating?" Chihiro asked. The waiter pulled up the dome cover to reveal a sheep's head._

"_NOO!" Chihiro shouted._

_Hina wasted no time. "Come on. We have to." She began pulling the skin off the face and began peeling meat off before popping it into her mouth._

Miu fumbled at the marketplace Roadblock, putting them in last.

"_What?" She asked. "What the fuck's wrong? I have everything!"_

In the end, Nagito's luck helped pull them through the Detour and allowed them to win the leg.

"_Nagito and Nekomaru, you are team number ONE!" Monokuma said._

However, Tenko and Himiko spent hours at the Detour, overlooking a single carpet as Miu and Kazuichi made up time.

"_We must've wasted an hour here," Tenko said. "This was a poor decision."_

And they never recovered.

"_Tenko and Himiko, I am sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive, and you have been eliminated from the race."_

Seven teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Marrakech, Morocco**

_ **This is Marrakech, Morocco, a former Imperial city and the fourth largest city in the country. Teams will now depart on the sixth leg of a race around the world.** _

_ **Nagito and Nekomaru will depart first at 12:32 AM.** _

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st to depart, 12:32 AM**

"Where we going?" Nekomaru asked, as Nagito ripped open the clue.

"Fly to Athens, Greece," Nagito read, smiling.

**[i] Fly to: Athens, Greece**

_ **Teams must now book a flight to the Greek city of Athens. Once teams arrive, they must make their way to the Acropolis, where they will find their next clue on a sign written in Greek.** _

"We're going to Greece!" Nagito said, running to the street and quickly hailing a cab.

"_We finally got a win yesterday," Nekomaru said. "Now we're going back to Europe. We're stoked!"_

They rode their cab to a travel agency as they walked in.

"Hi," the agent said. "How can I help you today?"

"We need to get to Athens. As fast as possible."

The agent typed on her computer. "There is a flight that arrives at 9:30 AM via Rome."

"Are you sure that's the earliest flight?" Nagito asked.

"The only other flight arrives at 10:00 via Tunis."

"We'll take it."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st on 1st Flight**

"We've got a 30 minute advantage on the next flight." Nagito said. "Hopefully it's enough to help cushion us for elimination."

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd to depart, 1:05 AM**

"Fly to Athens, Greece!" Sayaka read. Makoto smiled and grabbed her hand as they ran outside and jammed their stuff into the trunk of a taxi.

"We've got three 2nd places in a row," Makoto said. "I think it's about time to break that record."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru stepped out into the airport. "After yesterday's Roadblock I could see that Sayaka, Leon, and Shuichi were working together. Are they in some kind of alliance?"

"_We've noticed that there's a bit of an alliance between three of the teams," Nagito said. "We don't like that. We're not completely sure if it's a true alliance, we'll have to pay attention to them to make sure. But we want to break that up as soon as possible."_

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka entered the travel agency. "Hi, we need to get to Athens, soon as possible." Sayaka said.

"There's a flight that arrives at 9:30 via Rome." the agent said.

"Is that the earliest one?"

"That's the earliest."

"We'll take it."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd to depart, 1:26 AM**

"Hi, we need to book a flight," Kaede said.

"Where to?" The agent asked.

"Athens. As fast as possible."

"There's a 9:30 flight. It's the earliest one."

"We'll take it," Shuichi said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd on Flight 1**

"We are going to Athens!" Kaede cheered.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Here are your tickets," the agent said. "And you have the last tickets on the first flight."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Last on Flight 1**

"Thank you," Hajime said. "Whoa, that was close."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"There was a flight that is set to arrive thirty minutes earlier, but it's all full."

"Damn it, again?" Leon pouted. "Welp… I guess there's nothing we can do."

**Leon and Ibuki: 1st on Flight 2**

"Well… maybe the first flight will get delayed? Like in Paris?" Ibuki suggested.

"It's possible," Leon replied. "But it's impossible to tell right now."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi arrived at the agency and approached the ticket counter.

"We need to get to Athens. Earliest arrival possible." Kazuichi said.

As the agent was typing on his computer, Hina and Chihiro lined up behind them.

"There's a flight that is set to arrive at 10:15. All others earlier are full."

"Fine, we'll take that one." Miu said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Last on Flight 2**

"You guys have the last tickets." the agent said.

"Last tickets…" Kazuichi said. "On this flight?"

"Yes, that's correct," the agent replied. Chihiro and Hina looked up and right at them in shock.

"Ha, they're screwed." Miu said, glancing at Chihiro. "We're pretty much safe."

Hina sighed as Miu and Kazuichi left the counter, smirking at them.

"When's the next flight to Athens?" Chihiro asked.

"It doesn't get in until 3:00 PM."

Hina exhaled and put her hands behind her head, while Chihiro looked at his feet.

"Is it possible to get on anything earlier?"

"If you are in a race with these other teams, the best suggestion I can tell you is to go to the airport and try to get a standby ticket for the other two flights today."

"We should book this last flight regardless, because if we can't get these standby flights, we'll be left with no flight."

**Chihiro and Hina: Alone on Flight 3**

* * *

The teams were waiting at their terminal at the airport as Miu and Kazuichi walked up to Leon and Ibuki mid-conversation.

"So that's how I got kicked out the Osaka Science Museum," Ibuki said. "Oh, what's up guys?"

"We've just got some info you two virgins might like," Miu said.

"What is it?" Leon asked.

"Chihiro and Hina don't get in until three hours after us," Kazuichi said.

"So we can essentially relax unless something goes horribly wrong," Leon said. "I like that."

"That's a bombtastic cushion for us!" Ibuki shouted.

* * *

Nagito and Nekomaru approached Shuichi and Kaede, and Makoto and Sayaka.

"Hi," Nagito said.

"What's up?" Kaede asked.

"Nothing... I was just wondering if you two teams are… close. You seem to be working together a lot."

"I guess you can say that…" Sayaka said. "We just like to talk a lot because Kaede and I have similar talents."

"Hmm… I see." Nagito replied. He walked back to Nekomaru.

"_Of course we weren't going to tell Nagito we were in a formal alliance." Makoto said. "That's just something to target us with. We just fibbed a little bit so he wouldn't get suspicious and want to U-turn us."_

"_I'm suspicious of them and I want to U-turn them." Nagito said. "I just feel like that's a huge threat for us and other teams not in the alliance. We're not sure whether or not Leon and Ibuki are in on it, but I'm still paying attention."_

* * *

"Hi, we have a flight to Athens, but we were wondering if it was possible to get onto an earlier flight," Chihiro said.

"All earlier flights right now are fully booked," the agent said. "But if you lounge around here, I can tell you if a spot opens up."

"Alright, that would be great, thank you."

* * *

"I mean, they're screwed," Leon said. "There's no coming back for them."

"There can always be a miracle," Ibuki replied.

"I don't think they're going to be 'Nagito' lucky," Kazuichi said.

* * *

"Alright, I can get you on the 9:30 flight."

**Chihiro and Hina: Last on Flight 1**

"Oh, god, that could've been bad," Chihiro said, putting a hand on Hina's shoulder.

"From last to first," Hina replied, exhaling from relief.

After going through security, they greeted the rest of the teams on the first flight.

"Hi!" Chihiro cheered.

"Oh my god hi!" Sayaka said. "What happened?"

"Alright… so we fell behind and edged out Tenko and Himiko to the Pit Stop," Hina said. "Then, today, Miu and Kazuichi got the last tickets for the flight after yours, meaning that we would be alone on a flight two hours after."

"We asked to be put on standby and they gave us the okay!" Chihiro said.

"Well… congratulations!" Makoto said. "You got really lucky."

"So Tenko and Himiko are gone now, huh?" Shuichi asked. Chihiro and Hina solemnly nodded. "That's alright. Someone has to go."

"I bet the other two teams on the flight after this one have no idea they just fell to last place." Shuichi said. "Why don't we all catch breakfast together?"

"That sounds great," Hajime said.

* * *

**Athens International Airport**

**Flight 1: 9:30 AM**

"Scuse me!" Sayaka shouted, trying not to run over toddlers in the middle of the arrival terminal.

"Coming through!" Hajime shouted.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Taxi!" Hina shouted. They ran into the taxi and leaned forwards to the driver. "Acropolis."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We need to get to the Acropolis," Kaede said.

"Acropolis?" the driver asked. "Yeah. Okay."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

After they had settled into their taxi, they looked out their windows at the scenery.

"Greece is a lot more… modernized than I would think," Chiaki said. "I figured it would be like Morocco but you've got like four or five story apartment buildings and other stuff. Though that might be because we're in the commercial district now."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"You see that cab up there?" Sayaka pointed. "You need to get ahead of that. We're in a huge race."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," the driver replied.

The driver sped up and moved past the next cab.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"What are you doing? Don't let them pass us!" Nekomaru shouted. Their cab sped back up and kept up with Makoto and Sayaka's cab.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"You need to go FAST. And I mean FLOOR IT." Hina demanded. The driver floored the pedal as they overpassed Nagito and Nekomaru and Makoto and Sayaka.

"Yeah! You go, Adrien!" Hina said.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"No, come on!" Sayaka shouted. "Faster! Andale!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"This is it," the driver said. Hajime and Chiaki gathered their stuff out of the cab as they ran towards the Acropolis.

"How do we get there?" Hajime asked.

"You've got to go straight, then it'll be to your right." the Athenian said.

"Thanks," Chiaki replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Run! Run! Run!" Nekomaru shouted.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Nekomaru," Nagito said. "Just let me run at my own pace."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"I see the clue box!" Sayaka shouted. Makoto and Sayaka arrived just as Nagito and Nekomaru bashed into them.

"What the hell guys?" Makoto asked.

"Sorry," Nekomaru replied. Makoto sighed and ripped the clue open.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to clash steel?" Makoto read.

**[i] Greek Warfare**

_ **In this Roadblock, teams will have to do a mock battle, Ancient-Greek Style. One team member must suit up into an ancient greek style suit of armor and weapons, and learn this battle choreography. Once the judge deems their performance perfect, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"Alright, let's do this!" Makoto said, running into the changing tent.

"I'll do it" Nekomaru said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Where is it?" Chihiro said.

"It's right there!" Hina pointed. They ran up and opened it.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to clash steel?"

Just then, Makoto and Nekomaru ran out of the changing tents in full armor and weapons.

"I want to," Hina said. "This'll be fun."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"It's me," Shuichi said. "Clash steel. Swordfighting?"

**Makoto**

Makoto came out of the changing tent in a suit of armor. "This thing is heavy…" he groaned.

Sayaka, Chihiro, and Kaede laughed.

"Hey," Makoto replied, smiling. "This could've been you!"

He flipped open the clue and read over it. "Pick an instructor,"

He pointed to the really muscular man. "You!"

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru then came out of the tent with the gear, but it seemed to fit Nekomaru more than it fit Makoto.

"You! Teach me the ropes!" he pointed.

**Makoto**

"Alright, so you thrust the spear at my chest," the instructor said. "Try it."

Makoto did an underhand stabbing motion, like you would when stabbing in the stomach, as the instructor blocked it with the shield.

"No, you want to do it overhand. Like you're pitching a baseball. You get more force in and it looks less awkward."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"Roadblock," Hajime read. "Are you good with swords?"

"I wouldn't think so…"

"Fine. I'll do it," Hajime said.

**Shuichi**

Shuichi came out of the tent in full armor, face beet red from the spectators' laughs.

"You look great, Shuichi!" Kaede shouted.

"This is heavy…" Shuichi replied.

**Hina**

"This is real uncomfortable," Hina said, fidgeting with the breastplate.

"It's kinda heavy, but not _that_ uncomfortable," Shuichi said.

"No… it's just… these were kind of designed for… men."

"Oh… I… I see…" Shuichi stammered. "If they don't have alternatives, you'll have no choice but to deal with it,"

Hina sighed.

**Nekomaru**

"Now, I'm going to do a side swipe and you're going to have to leap backwards."

"Alright, let's try." Nekomaru shouted. The instructor swiped sideways as Nekomaru jumped backwards, but his helmet fell off in the process.

"That was good, that was good, but if your helmet falls off in the performance it'll fail it." the instructor said.

**Shuichi**

Shuichi thrust the spear to the chest as the instructor knocked it away. Shuichi then pulled out a shortsword from the belt and began a swordfight.

"Very good, very good."

**Hina**

"Like, that's not going to cut me, right?" Hina asked.

"No, they're really dull," the instructor said. "And you've got the armor. It'll be fine."

**Makoto**

Makoto blocked a stab from the shortsword with his shield.

"No, you need to parry that with your sword, not your shield,"

"Alright."

"Other than that, I'd say you're all good to go up and attempt it, at least."

"I'll do just that," Makoto said. He stepped over the fence to the theater stage.

**Makoto: Attempt 1**

Makoto thrust the spear at the opponent's chest as the opponent blocked it with his shield. Makoto leapt backwards from a sword swing as he ran forwards and thrust the spear at the chest a second time. The opponent swung his sword and knocked the spear to the ground. Makoto pulled out a shortsword and swung it at the chest of the opponent.

"No!" the judge shouted. Makoto threw his hands up in the air as he went back to his instructor.

"You're supposed to thrust the sword, not swing it." the instructor said. "There's no one else in line. Do you want to try again?"

"Yeah," Makoto replied.

**Makoto: 2nd Attempt**

Makoto stabbed the spear at his opponent's chest as he blocked it. After a swing, Makoto leapt backwards and thrust the spear at his opponent again. His opponent knocked the spear out of Makoto's hand as Makoto drew his shortsword and thrust at his opponent's chest. The opponent blocked it with the shield as he swung, and Makoto parried. He swung, and Makoto parried again. After a fake stabbing, Makoto fell to the ground and feigned death.

"Good!" the judge shouted, holding up a clue in his hand.

"EEEEEEE!" Sayaka shouted in glee. Makoto grabbed the clue and ripped it open.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Route Info." Makoto read.

**[i] Run to: Technopolis**

_ **Teams must make their way on foot to the museum and cultural venue of Technopolis. Once teams arrive, they will find their next clue on the window of their marked cars.** _

"Let's go!" Sayaka shouted, running off to the street.

"Sayaka, wait! I have to change out of this!" Makoto shouted.

**Nekomaru**

"Alright, I think I'm ready!" Nekomaru shouted. He ran up to the theater floor.

**Nekomaru: 1st Attempt**

Nekomaru thrust the spear at the chest of his opponent as he held up his shield to block it. Nekomaru leapt backwards, keeping in mind to keep the helmet on his head. His spear was knocked out of his hand as he drew his sword, and thrust it. The opponent blocked it with his shield, and swung as Nekomaru parried it twice. Nekomaru fell to the ground as the performer fake stabbed him.

"Perfect!" the judge shouted, holding up the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way on foot to Technopolis," Nagito read. "We can catch up to them. They just left."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka pulled over a man to the side of the pavement. "Hey, do you know where Technopolis is?"

"You need to go straight on Apostolou Pavlou, make a left on Iraklidon, make a right on Persefonis, and make a right on Orfeos and you're there."

"Are those street names?"

"Yes, these are street names."

"Could you write them down for us?" Makoto asked.

**Hina**

Hina continued practicing with the sword.

"I'm good with the spear part," Hina said. Then, she attempted to block the blade with her own as it was knocked out of her hand.

"You need a tighter grip," The instructor said.

"That hurt," She said, shaking her wrist. "No matter. I can do this!"

**Hajime**

Hajime thrust the sword as the instructor stopped him. "No, no, thrust it underhand this time,"

Hajime thrust the sword a few more times and did a few parries after.

"You picked this up fast. I think it's time for you to go."

**Shuichi**

Shuichi parried the last sword swipe. "Alright, after that you just play dead," the instructor said. "You're good to go."

**Hina**

"I think I'll stand in line and try it," Hina said.

**Hajime: 1st Attempt**

Hajime thrust the spear at his partner's breastplate as he deflected it with the shield.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to Technopolis?" Nagito asked.

"It's… uhh…" the pedestrian said. "That way"

He pointed to the right. "Just keep walking. You can't miss it."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"This place is sick!" Makoto said, running up to the seven parked cars in the street. They ran up and ripped it open.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Detour. Wheels or Water?"

_ **The Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, and has evolved dramatically over the centuries. Teams will now have the chance to participate in an ancient sport, or a modern one. It will be their choice: Wheels, or Water.** _

**[D] Wheels**

_ **Chariot racing was a major sport in Ancient Greece, and extremely prevalent in the Ancient Olympics. Wheels will require teams to drive to the nearby town of Markopoulo and find the Markopoulo Racetrack, where teams will find an Ancient Greek style chariot. After picking out a horse, teams must complete five laps around the track to receive their next clue. However, if teams are thrown off their chariot, they must restart from the beginning.** _

**[D] Water**

_ **Rowing was not included in the original Olympic Games in ancient times, but is one of the more popular sports added in the modern Summer Olympics. In Water, teams must drive themselves to the town of Vouliagmeni and find the Vouliagmenis Nautical Club. There, they must row this two-person rowboat 300 meters in under two minutes to receive their next clue.** _

"I think we should do the rowing," Makoto said.

"Yeah, I don't feel like getting a concussion," Sayaka replied.

"What a shame, though. I like this Technopolis place."

They ran to their cars just as Nagito and Nekomaru arrived.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Detour. Wheels or Water?" Nagito read.

"Wheels." Nekomaru said. "I'd make that boat sink."

"You didn't make it sink in Paris," Nagito replied. "But alright."

**Hajime: 1st Attempt**

Hajime feigned death as the judge handed him the clue.

"Nice job," Chiaki said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way on foot to Technopolis," Hajime read.

**Hina: 1st Attempt**

Hina stood up to the stage as she readied her spear.

"Go!" the judge shouted. Hina got it down quickly, but fumbled getting the sword out of its holster.

She tugged at it for a few seconds before throwing her hands in the air in frustration as the judge called out her failure.

"It's alright, Hina," Chihiro said. "Just focus. Don't stress too much."

Kaede whispered to him. "The second flight should be arriving soon."

* * *

**Flight 2: Delayed 20 Minutes, 10:35 AM**

The flight touched down as the two teams ran through the airport.

"Go, go!" Ibuki shouted. Miu tripped over a random rock on the floor as Leon collided with a passenger.

"Sorry," Leon said, standing back up and running. They ran outside to the line of taxis.

"Hi, we need to get to the Theater of Dionysus, as fast as possible!" Leon said.

"Theater of Dionysus," Kazuichi said.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"We're headed to this place I can't pronounce," Makoto said. "Hopefully it's not too out of the way… we know it's somewhat far from the main part of Athens so there's a high chance we can get lost on the way there."

"At least it's a nice view though," Sayaka said. "We're driving along the seaside."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"What's the name of the town we're supposed to go to?" Nekomaru asked, hands on the wheel.

"Markopoulo," Nagito replied.

"Marco Polo?" Nekomaru clarified. "That's easy to remember."

He said that right as they passed a sign saying 'Markopoulo, right.'

**Shuichi: 1st Attempt**

Shuichi leapt backwards as he tripped and fell onto the ground.

"Damn," he said, standing back up and putting his sword back into its holster.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, this place is cool," Hajime said, running into the museum. "Where's the clue box?"

"It's probably hidden somewhere" Chiaki replied. Meanwhile, the cars with the clues awaited outside.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I love Athens!" Ibuki shouted, looking out the window, then rolling it down and sticking her head, then torso out. "WOOOOOOO!"

"Ibuki, you're going to fall out and die." Leon said. "Dying would slow us down."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Faster!" Kazuichi shouted.

"Geez… shut up and enjoy this! We're essentially guaranteed to get through this leg unless we get stuck for three hours at something."

"You might be right… but I'm getting a bad feeling."

**Hina: 2nd Attempt**

*CLANG*

The spear fell to the ground as Hina pulled out the shortsword and parried the attacks.

*CLANG CLANG CLANG*

Hina then fell to the ground as the performer 'stabbed' her.

"Perfecto!" the judge shouted, handing Hina the clue.

"Yes!" Hina shouted. She ran over to Chihiro and opened it.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way on foot to Technopolis," Chihiro read. "Alright, Hina, go get changed and we'll be on our way."

**Shuichi: 2nd Attempt**

Shuichi laid down as he was 'stabbed'.

"Bravo!" the judge shouted.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way on foot to Technopolis," Shuichi read.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"I really hope we're going the right way," Sayaka said. "And we're in the right place."

"I think it should be around here," Makoto replied "Sayaka, you're the one with the map."

"The entire map is in Greek and letters I don't understand."

Makoto rolled down his window and shouted at some guy and a girl crossing the street. "Excuse me? Do you know where the valoo-ja-whatever Nautical Club is?"

"No english." the guy said.

"Vouliagmenis Nautical Club?" the girl asked. "You go straight down this road and make a left at the first time you see it."

"Alright, thank you!"

They followed her directions and ended up in a parking lot in front of a building. Parking their cars, they ran inside.

"Who here's going to teach us how to row?" Sayaka asked. Seven rowers lined up in front of them.

"You," Makoto pointed to the first one. The rower led them outside and to the docks, and gestured to the rowboat.

"Wow, that is narrow," Sayaka gawked. They tried to get into it, but ended up tipping it over almost immediately.

"How do I get on?" Makoto asked, laughing.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"This way!" Chihiro pointed, dashing towards the marked cars with the clues on their windshield wipers.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Detour. Wheels or water?"

"Definitely Water," Hina said. "I don't care what the other is. I need to get close to water. These Pit Stop Hotels didn't have pools and I'm going through a withdrawal."

"The other looks like a concussion waiting to happen…" Chihiro said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Kaede pointed towards the cars. "It's over here!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4rd Place**

"We're doing Water," Kaede said, getting into their cars.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think Shuichi and Kaede are following us," Chihiro said, looking behind them.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We're following Chihiro and Hina," Shuichi said. "We can't afford to get lost. At least this way, if we do get lost, we'll get lost with another team and we'll still have a chance to stay in this."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They continued walking around the museum inside Technopolis. "We've been here for far too long, something isn't right." Hajime said. Chiaki pulled out their clue again and read over it. "Oh. It's on marked cars on the outside of the museum,"

"What? We're so dumb…" Hajime said, running outside. "We ran right past it!"

They approached the car and ripped the clue off the windshield.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"Detour. Wheels or water?" Chiaki read.

"I say we do water," Hajime said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in 6th Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to clash steel?" Kazuichi read. "Sounds like a forging or a mechanical challenge?"

Meanwhile, in the background, one of the instructors was demonstrating the challenge with the performer with VERY AUDIBLE CLANGS.

"It could be…" Miu replied.

"You know what? I'll do it," Kazuichi said. Then he opened up the clue and read it. "On second thought… maybe you should've done this one."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Ibuki'll do it!," Ibuki said. "This looks so fun!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Nekomaru, this clearly isn't right," Nagito said. "We've been driving for far too long."

"I haven't seen a sign for Marco Polo yet."

"Do you know how it's spelled?"

"Like the Italian guy, right?"

Nagito put his hands on his face in stress. "It's one word and spelled with a K and a U."

Nekomaru was silent for a few seconds as he tried to recollect his thoughts. "Oh… I think I may have passed that twenty minutes ago."

"Turn around."

"I can't. This is a one-way road."

They pulled over and got out of their car to talk to a highway officer.

"Hi, do you know when's the next chance to turn around?" Nekomaru asked.

"Not for another twenty miles," the officer said.

Nagito shook his head in disappointment and walked back to the car, tripping over a random rock on the ground.


	12. Leg 6.2

**Leg 6.2**

* * *

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito stood up and brushed his pants off before hopping back into the driver's seat of the car. "Fine. Nekomaru, let's just go and turn around as soon as possible. I'll drive."

Nekomaru sighed and got into the passenger seat. As they went off, Nagito looked behind them and made an illegal U-turn as soon as they were out of eyeshot.

**Ibuki: 1st Attempt**

Ibuki dropped her spear as it clashed with the shield, and she shook her hand in pain.

"_That was a lot more vibration that I typically get with my-" Ibuki started._

"_Woah, woah there!" Leon said. _

"_I was going to say my guitar and drums!"_

"_Oh," _

"Damn it," Leon said. "Just get it quickly. My nerves are killing me."

**Kazuichi**

Kazuichi leapt backwards as he dropped his spear and tripped backwards.

"Damn it!" he shouted.

"Just get it done, Kazuishit!" Miu shouted.

"Kazuishit?" Kazuichi asked.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Sayaka pushed them off the dock as they began making their way in front of the starting buoys, but they tipped over again.

"Come on!" Makoto shouted.

"_We each had two oars, one for each hand, that were secured to the side of the boat. Those boats were a huge pain in the rear," Makoto said. "They were extremely narrow, which meant that it was very difficult to balance and tipped over extremely easily. And, this boat had a sliding seat that was meant to help us build up momentum and speed, and it was difficult to balance while also rowing and sliding." _

They groaned and climbed back into the boat, and continued rowing to the buoys.

"Are you ready?" the coach asked, on a jetski.

"Yes!" Makoto shouted.

"300 meters, 2 minutes. Go!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 1st Attempt**

Makoto and Sayaka began rowing with their backs facing the direction of the finish buoys. They put both oars in the water as their boat immediately began to tip over.

"Lean! Lean!" Sayaka shouted.

"I'm trying!" Makoto rebutted.

Their boat tilted as they submerged.

"Ack!" Makoto shouted, spitting water out of his mouth.

"This is going to be a long day," Sayaka said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"How much longer do I drive for?" Hajime asked. No response. "Chiaki?"

He stopped at a light and turned to see that she had already fallen asleep.

"This girl… how can she sleep at a time like this?"

"Ugh… I couldn't sleep on the plane."

"That's fine, but try your best to stay awake so you can help me navigate."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Have you picked up that three of the teams are working together an awful lot lately?" Chihiro asked.

"Not really… what about it?"

"I think Makoto and Sayaka, Shuichi and Kaede, and Leon and Ibuki have some kind of alliance going up."

"Now that you mention it… they did team up at the market challenge yesterday."

"_While we were driving, the realization kind of hit us that we were going up against a three-team alliance." Hina explained. "If it was just a two-team alliance, that wouldn't be that big of a deal, but since it's three of them, we suspect they're trying to make it so they're the only ones that get to finals."_

"_People are entitled to do what they want on this race," Chihiro said. "It's not like it's against the rules. But since we're outside of that alliance, we need to dismantle it if we want to stand a chance in this competition."_

"Assuming all three teams make it past this leg, why don't we make an alliance with the teams outside of that alliance?" Hina suggested.

"That's… not a bad idea. But I'm not sure about bringing Nagito and Nekomaru into the finale. They're probably our biggest competition here behind Shuichi and Kaede."

"I'm not saying we have to bring them to finals, just recruit them long enough to help knock down their 'musical alliance' to one or two members."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"You know, it's kind of relaxing just following someone else without having to argue with each other about navigation." Shuichi said.

"But what if they're going to the wrong place?" Kaede asked.

"We always have the Express Pass if something goes wrong," Shuichi replied. "I sure do hope that Leon and Ibuki use theirs today so they can get through to the next leg."

**Ibuki: 2nd Attempt**

Ibuki pulled out her shortsword as she swung and stabbed it. The performer blocked it and swung at Ibuki as she parried two attacks. She fell to the ground as the performer 'stabbed' her.

"Good job!" the judge shouted, holding up the clue.

"Fuck." Miu said. Ibuki ran over to the judge and got the clue, and ran over to Leon to rip it open.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way on foot to Technopolis," Leon read. "Go get changed. Quickly."

"Oh, finally. My boobs are killing me in this armor."

As Ibuki ran to the changing tent, Kazuichi stepped up and began the performance.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd Attempt**

The timer started his stopwatch as they began rowing.

"Alright, Sayaka, just keep stabilizing it. Don't worry too much about rowing."

"Got it," Sayaka replied, simply standing still in her seat and trying to adjust her center of gravity.

This strategy worked as they reached the end.

"We finished it," Makoto said. "What's our time?"

"2:19," the timer said. "You need to try it again."

"Clearly that didn't work," Makoto said. "Sayaka, why don't we both row, but just try to keep our bodies in a straight line."

Sayaka nodded.

**Kazuichi: 2nd Attempt**

"Bravo!" the judge clapped, handing Kazuichi the clue.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in Last Place**

"It's about fucking time!" Miu scolded. "What, were you just thinking about porn while practicing?"

"It only took me two tries! Lighten up!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru were on the road, backtracking to the sign.

"I can't believe I made that mistake," Nekomaru said, somewhat disappointed. "That put us… what, forty minutes behind? The other flight could catch up and overpass us."

"No, Nekomaru, it's my fault," Nagito replied. "I was stupid thinking that steaming garbage like me could direct you well enough to get us there."

"Nagito… think high of yourself! You won the leg for us yesterday!"

"More like my luck won the leg for you." Nagito replied.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Wait, are we allowed to get a moving start, or do we have to start stopped at these buoys?" Sayaka asked.

"Oh, that's a good question," Makoto replied.

"You can a moving if you want. I just need to start the timer once you pass these starting buoys."

"So we can build up momentum," Makoto said. "I like that idea."

"Yeah, it takes us a while to start moving at an efficient pace."

Makoto and Sayaka moved further away from the starting buoys as they began rowing to build up momentum. Then fell in the water before they even reached the starting line.

"Let's try that again," Makoto said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina pulled up to the Nautical Club with Shuichi and Kaede behind them.

"Let's go! Beat them!" Hina shouted.

"It doesn't matter!" Kaede shouted back.

They ran into the building as they picked out their rowing instructors.

"Alright, Mr. Muscle" Kaede said. "Show us the ropes!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 3rd Attempt**

Makoto and Sayaka started far from the buoys and began rowing.

"This is alright…" Sayaka said. "It's tough, though."

They continued making sure their bodies moved in a completely straight line.

"Graaah!" Makoto groaned, sliding his body back and forth on the sliding chair. "Come on!" he shouted.

They continued as they passed the buoys.

"1:57." the timer said. He held up their clue, wrapped in waterproof plastic, and clipped it to Sayaka's lifeife jacket.

"Let's get back to the pier," Makoto said, rowing back to the pier they came from, then collapsing again.

"Screw it, let's swim," Makoto said. Sayaka laughed as they left the boat in the middle of the bay and swam over to the pier, where both Shuichi and Kaede as well as Chihiro and Hina were getting into their boats.

"Hi," Kaede said. "Is it hard?"

"Kind of," Sayaka replied. "Just make sure that you keep your body-"

Then she saw Chihiro and Hina sort of listening in, when she leaned in and whispered into Kaede's ear.

"Keep your body straight. It's easy to tip over, and get a moving start so you don't waste time trying to move from a standstill."

Kaede nodded and whispered it to Shuichi. Hina rolled her eyes, got into the boat, and paddled out to sea.

"That settles it," Chihiro said. "They're working together and trying to keep us out of it."

As the two teams left out to the water, Makoto ripped their clue open.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to the next Pit Stop!" Makoto read.

**[i] Drive to Pit Stop: Temple of Poseidon**

_ **This is the Temple of Poseidon, one of the Ancient Greek Temples still standing at the southern tip of this peninsula. Teams must now drive themselves here for their Pit Stop. The last team to find me may be eliminated.** _

"If Nagito and Nekomaru aren't done, we can finally get a win in this competition!" Sayaka said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled up to the racetrack as they ran inside.

"I really hope we didn't lose too much time," Nagito said. As they reached the racetrack, seven instructors lined up side-to-side.

"Who wants to help us ride a chariot?" Nekomaru asked. He pointed to a really buff guy.

"You!" he shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They picked out their instructor as he led them out to the dock.

"Oh, the other two are here!" Hajime pointed out. "We can catch back up after that stumble"

**Chihiro and Hina**

As they paddled out a bit to practice, they kind of stumbled as their boat kept tipping over.

"Chihiro, why don't we try this?" Hina asked. "I'll do the heavy rowing, and you try to stabilize the boat and keep it from tipping over."

"Alright… I don't see why not."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Attempt**

They got a moving start as they passed the buoys and the timer began his stopwatch.

"Go!" Shuichi shouted. "Row! Row like your life depends on it!"

Kaede tried to row, but groaned as the boat began to tip over.

"No!" Kaede shouted. "Don't tip on me, boat!"

Their boat filled up with water as they collapsed to their left with a splash, and Shuichi pounded the hull in frustration.

**Chihiro and Hina: 1st Attempt**

"It looks like Shuichi and Kaede got a rowing start before they reached the starting line," Chihiro said. "I think that's a smart decision."

They lined up a few meters in front of the starting line as Hina began rowing to get it moving. Chihiro stuck out his oars on the sides so it would be harder to tip over.

Hina made almost no facial expressions as she slid the seat and rowed nonstop for the entire length, as Chihiro kept stabilizing it the moment the boat tipped over.

"Nice job," She said.

"_I really think that, at least for picking partners at the Starting Line, that we have the best matchup in terms of strengths." Chihiro said. "Hina covers my lack of physical strength, and I can make up for it by being better at most mental challenges. Except for building guillotines."_

Hina began groaning after they had reached around three quarters of the course, but continued.

"_I have a lot of upper body strength, that's true, but when I'm rowing that fast for that long distance, alone, that's difficult. Not to say I can't handle it."_

"Come on, Hina!" Chihiro encouraged. They passed the finish buoys as the timer looked at his stopwatch.

"1:34," he said. "Good job!"

"Whoo… ooh…" Hina panted, speaking between breaths. "I might've gone too overboard… but th- that's good!"

"They got it?" Shuichi asked.

Chihiro slowly paddled them back to shore because it was "the least he could do' after doing absolutely nothing. They walked up to the dock just as Hajime and Chiaki were getting into their boat.

"Hey!" Kaede shouted. "Do you have any tips for us?"

"_Kaede asked us for a tip…" Hina said. _

"_No, absolutely not. At least not with what happened with them and Makoto and Sayaka just a few minutes ago." Chihiro said. _

Chihiro spoke quietly to Hajime and Chiaki so Kaede and Shuichi wouldn't hear.

"What we did was have one person stabilize it while the other person rowed." Chihiro whispered. "And get a moving start. Don't start from a stop."

"Got it," Chiaki replied.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Temple of Poseidon." Chihiro read.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"You have to click with your mouth to get them to go," the instructor said, handling the horse. "And you have to lightly pull on the rope depending on what direction you want them to go. Don't pull too hard or else you'll hurt them,"

"Alright," Nagito said.

"If you want to stop them, pull both ends at the same time."

"I see…" Nekomaru said. "Alright, let's go!"

"No, wait… you need heavy safety gear… this is dangerous."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Hi, do you know how to get to this Technopolis place?" Ibuki asked.

"It's right there," the pedestrian said, pointing to a building six meters away from them.

"Oh, thanks," Ibuki replied, running over to the marked cars in front of the building.

"Hang on," Leon said. "Chihiro and Hina should be behind us, and Kazuichi and Miu too. Why are there only two cars here?"

"Ibuki thinks we should talk about that after reading" Ibuki said, pressing fingertips together.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Detour. Wheels or Water?" Leon read. "Let's do… water? What do you think?"

"Water sounds great!"

They got into their car just as Miu and Kazuichi ran to their car.

"They're right on our tails," Leon said.

"That's not that big of an issue, right?"

Leon wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Something's up here. Could they have gotten on some earlier flight?."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently on Last Place**

"Detour. Wheels or Water," Miu read. "Wheels. I want to do wheels."

"Alright… it doesn't have much to do with brute strength so I'm fine with it…" Kazuichi stammered.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Why were there only two cars there?" Leon asked, hands on the wheel.

"Don't sweat it, Leon!" Ibuki said. "It's not a big dealeo."

"No, it is a big deal if it is what I think it is. We might have to use the Express Pass today."

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"I'm getting a bad feeling," Kazuichi said. "Chihiro and Hina were behind us… but our car was the only one there."

"Shut up and get your ass out of your mouth! They're behind us! End of story!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru stepped onto the back of a chariot after suiting up in heavy helmets and padded suits.

"It's hot in here," Nagito said. "Whatever. Let's get this done."

Nekomaru began clicking with his mouth as the two horses began to move. Steadily walking at first, they evolved into a steady gallop.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Nekomaru shouted. Nagito pulled the right side so the horse would turn, but they turned so fast that the chariot flung both of them off and flipped upside down. Nekomaru collided into the floor as Nagito collided his head into the racetrack wall.

"I take it back! Not awesome." Nekomaru shouted. Nagito didn't respond and laid limp on the floor. "Nagito?"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st Attempt**

Following Chihiro's suggestion, Chiaki stabilized the boat with oars as Hajime rowed.

"Graaah!" Hajime shouted. "My arms are… giving out on me!"

"TIME!" the timer shouted when they were ⅔ of the way across.

"Is this really how Chihiro and Hina did it?" Hajime asked. "That girl has to have a lot of upper body strength."

"_I truly did not understand how Chihiro and Hina finished it that way," Hajime explained. "Whatever worked for them clearly was not working for us. Maybe it's that Hina had way more strength than me, or maybe it was that we were doing something wrong, but we had to switch out our strategy." _

"Why don't we just row like normal?" Hajime asked. Looking at Shuichi and Kaede on their whateverth attempt, they noticed them collapsing into the water. "Okay, never mind."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"I know the Pit Stop's real far away," Makoto said. "We asked some guy at a hotel and he said it was supposed to be around forty five minutes from the Detour. Hopefully we haven't gotten lost yet."

"We don't know if Nagito and Nekomaru are done with the Detour yet," Sayaka said. "As for the other teams at our Detour, they could be right on our tails or twenty minutes behind us. We're not sure. We know that Hina could definitely pull through that challenge, and they could be already done."

"Whoops."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"You have to make a left," Chihiro said.

"Are you sure? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure… don't yell at me…"

"I'm not yelling at you." Hina said. "I'm just uncertain. I feel like this road is a little too out of the way."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"We're pulling up at the temple now…" Makoto said, pulling into a parking spot. Meanwhile, Chihiro and Hina's cab pulled up right behind them.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Wait, is that Makoto and Sayaka?" Chihiro asked, slamming their door. "It is! I recognize that blue hair!"

"We could beat them in a footrace." Hina said. "Run!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Shit, they caught up!" Makoto shouted. "Go! We have to get that first place in!"

Monokuma sat at the Pit Stop mat, overlooking the ocean behind the temple. Makoto and Sayaka stepped on it a few seconds before Chihiro and Hina.

"Makoto and Sayaka, today's your lucky break, huh?" Monokuma asked. "I am proud to tell you that you are team number ONE!"

**Makoto and Sayaka: 1st Place**

"WOOOOO!" Makoto shouted, hands in the air. He hugged Sayaka for a solid five seconds before letting her go.

"And of course, Chihiro and Hina, that means you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"Alright!" Hina said. "That's not bad!"

"It's a great improvement from our last two legs!" Chihiro said, eyes gleaming.

"Now, Makoto and Sayaka, for winning this leg of the race, for the next flight you will take, you will receive a free upgrade to first class!"

"Alright," Makoto said. "That sounds great."

"The next flight you will take will be the longest one on this race, so you better appreciate it and use it wisely." Monokuma said.

"We will. Ooh! I hope it's Emirates! They have a shower on board for their first class!"

"What the-" Hina started.

"So, I understand there was a little scuffle at the airport this morning between you and Nagito?" Monokuma asked.

"It wasn't really a scuffle," Sayaka replied. "Nagito just gives me bad vibes. I don't like that. It's making me paranoid."

"It's not that big of a deal," Makoto said. "But we want them out."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 5th Attempt**

"Row!" Shuichi shouted. "Graaah!"

Kaede was too exhausted to respond. They passed the end buoys.

"What's our time?" Kaede asked.

"1:57." he replied, clipping the clue to Shuichi's life jacket. "Go open and read it back at shore."

They began paddling back to the pier, but the boat capsized again as they gave up and just swam to the dock.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Shuichi read. "The Temple of Poseidon in Sounion."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 2nd Attempt**

"Alright, Nagito, pull it gentler," Nekomaru said.

"Okay, okay," Nagito replied. Nekomaru began clicking with his mouth as the horses began to move again.

"Don't worry about the speed," Nagito said. "We just have to do five laps without getting thrown off. Timing doesn't matter."

"Does the amount of clicks indicate speed?" Nekomaru asked.

"I would think so," Nagito replied. Nekomaru slowed down his clicking as the horse slowed down from a gallop to a trot.

"Now turn!" Nagito shouted, pulling gently on the horses' reins. The horses turned normally as they felt a small pull from inertia.

"Alright, we just have to make sure we don't turn too sharp or don't go too fast at the turns, and we'll be fine," Nagito said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Just think of yourself like you're impaled on a pole and you're just sliding back and forth. Like you can't go from side to side no matter what."

"That's a grotesque analogy," Chiaki said. "But I understand."

They lined up at the starting line.

"Hang on," Hajime said. "Didn't Chihiro say something about a moving start?"

"I… I can't remember. But either way, that's a great idea. Should we try it?"

"I think we should try the first method. You stabilizing it and me rowing, just getting a moving start."

They lined up a few feet away from the starting line and began, crossing the starting line while still moving.

"Oh, we are going plenty faster." Hajime said. "That's what she meant."

They continued rowing until they passed the end buoys. "1:53," he said, clipping the clue to Chiaki's life vest. "Open it at the dock."

They rowed back to the dock, but Chiaki slipped and fell back into the water before getting back onto the dock.

"You okay?" Hajime asked, trying to stifle his laughter.

"I'm fine," she replied.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 4th Pace**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Hajime read.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru completed their third lap as their horses continued trotting.

"This isn't as exciting as the first time," Nekomaru said.

"That's alright," Nagito said. "As long as we get it done."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"This is a… long drive," Leon said. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"I'm soooooo certain," Ibuki replied. "Just keep going on this road."

They drove in silence for a few seconds before Leon spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't get past the fact that there were only two cars back there."

"Now that you mention it… it is weird."

"I've been mentioning it for the last half hour!"

**Miu and Kazuichi**

They were driving in almost complete silence before Miu piped up.

"Are you a virgin?"

"W-w-what the fuck?"

"I asked if you're a virgin? Eh, never mind, of course you are. That was a dumb question."

"Where the hell did that come from?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

They passed the finish line at a snail's pace.

"Congratulations," the referee said, handing Nagito the clue.

"That was painfully long," Nekomaru said.

"We got it done, though," Nagito said. "That's what matters."

They ripped their clue and read it right there.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Nagito read. They ran out of the racetrack and towards their car, just as Miu and Kazuichi came driving in.

"Hey!" Nagito shouted.

"Why the hell are you so far back?" Kazuichi asked.

"We got lost. By the way, Chihiro and Hina were on the first flight."

"What?" Miu asked. "How?"

"Standby flight," Nagito said.

"Nagito, what are you doing?" Nekomaru asked.

"I want to let them know so they have a bigger urge to beat Leon and Ibuki and tear down that alliance!"

"What alliance?" Kazuichi asked.

"They have a musical alliance." Nagito said. "We have to go now. Hopefully we see you tomorrow."

Nagito and Nekomaru stepped into their cab and drove off.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"So they really are in front of us, huh?" Kazuichi asked. "I knew something was up."

"They're probably fucking lying," Miu said.

"I don't know why they would lie about that though," Kazuichi replied. "Regardless, we shouldn't slack off or take things easily. They probably are telling the truth."

Miu sighed. "I wanted to relax today."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Shuichi and Kaede," Monokuma said. "You are team number 3."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd Place**

"Okay… okay… that's fine," Shuichi said. "We're still in this, and we still haven't broken our top 4 record."

"Do you think you can hold onto that record until the end?" Monokuma asked.

"We hope so…"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 4th Place**

"You're halfway through this race now," Monokuma said. "What do you think?"

"It's a great experience," Hajime said.

"I never thought I'd have much fun disconnecting from my games, but I'm actually really liking this!" Chiaki said. "Hopefully that million will just be that line block that fits just right to get the Tetris."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"You have to make a left," Ibuki said.

Leon made a right.

"No, Ibuki is telling you needed to take a right!"

"That's not right! That's a one way road! Use your head!"

"Leon, we've been driving for a really long time. I think we're going the wrong way."

"I'm not turning around," Leon said.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not wasting time to turn around. I'm sure there's some kind of alternate route we can take."

"Leon! Let's just ask someone."

"No! We're far from the city. No one here speaks English and that'll just waste time. I'll find it myself!"

"Leon, nothing's in English and we're off the track, and we have no idea where we are! Just ask someone for directions!"

"I can do this alone, thank you! Asking for directions will just waste our time! Dumbass!"

"I think this is the most irrational you've been so far on this race!"

"Shut up and let me drive the damn car! If you had just navigated us well, we could be at the Pit Stop by now!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"I see Monokuma!" Nagito said, running up to the Pit Stop mat.

"Nagito and Nekomaru, you are team number five."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 5th Place**

"It's not as well as we would hope, but we're still in this," Nagito said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st Attempt**

Kazuichi rapidly clicked with his tongue as the horse sprinted at almost max speed. Miu pulled the reins as they got flung off the chariot and onto the ground.

"AAAH WHAT THE FUCK!" Kazuichi shouted, taking off his helmet and rubbing his head.

"You pulled it too hard!" Miu scolded.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Leon, calm down, calm down, you're getting too worked up, which is something Ibuki almost never says." Ibuki said. "Take a few breaths."

Leon took a few breaths. "Fine. Let's ask someone."

They pulled over to a nearby gas station. "Hey, does anyone here speak English?"

"I speak English," the manager said. "What do you need?"

"We need to get to Volua-men- whatever Nautical Club. Can you help us with directions?"

Ibuki pulled out the map and laid it down on the counter. "Alright, here's the issue. The map you have is for the City of Athens. This place is off the map, so let me get a bigger one for you."

He went to the back and pulled out an extended map. "This one is for most of the peninsula. You can have it, free of charge."

He pulled out a pen and circled a location, then circled another further south. "This is where we are now, and this is where you want to go."

He drew a line going through the streets, connecting them. "This is the route I suggest you go. It's not the direct route, but there's traffic on this route this time of day."

"Alright, thank you!" Ibuki said, leaving the store.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Kazuichi got thrown off for the sixth time.

"Miu, this isn't working."

"What am I supposed to do about it?" Miu asked. "Just hold on tight!"

"I'm trying!"

They went again as both Miu and Kazuichi got thrown off the course again at the first turn.

"I think we should switch." Kazuichi said.

"What? No!" Miu replied.

"_Now, the two Detours were in completely different towns," Miu explained. "There'd be like a fucking twenty-minute drive between them, and it was totally possible for us to get lost somewhere along the way." _

"_Given how we kept messing up at the first turn, and there were like a kajillion turns per lap, I felt it would take us longer than twenty minutes to get it." Kazuichi justified._

"I'm not wasting that much time!" Miu said. "We're at this Detour. Let's just do it."

"Fine. But if I have to go to the hospital because of this, it's your fault."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"There's the club. Finally," Leon said. "I think we should just Express Pass it. We were lost for so long, and I feel like Chihiro and Hina are in front of us."

"Go ahead. No objections," Ibuki replied. Leon pulled out their Express Pass and handed it to the instructor, who went into the back room and pulled out a clue for them.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 6th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Temple of Poseidon," Leon read.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

"Miu, I'm getting dizzy," Kazuichi said. "We have to switch."

"I told you! We're not switching!"

"I physically can't do this anymore. My entire body hurts and I've hit my head more than enough times I can remember. I can't even remember what the Roadblock was this leg."

"Ugh. FINE." she scolded. They took off their pads and protective gear as they ran out to the car.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Hi, sir, do you know where this Temple is?" Leon asked. The man shook his head.

"Dammit!" Leon shouted. "Why can't we navigate in this goddamn country! It's stupid!"

He turned to another person on the road. "Hi, can you tell us how to get to the Temple of Poseidon?"

"Temple?" he asked. "It's in Athens. Here, let me show you."

He pointed to a spot where, when translated into English, said 'Temple of _Zeus'_

"Thank you." he replied.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi pulled up to the Nautical club for the Rowing Challenge.

"You know, if you don't like this one, we're not switching back, because that's really retarded like you."

"Alright," Kazuichi replied. "Wait, what?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

They were driving back north to Athens. "We are on our way to the Pit Stop, this really nice guy told us how to get there," Leon said.

"Hopefully we can get there before Miu and Kazuichi, and hopefully that Detour takes forever." Ibuki said.

**Miu and Kazuichi**

Miu and Kazuichi got into a boat, which almost immediately tipped over.

"Woah!" Kazuichi shouted, restabilizing it. Once Miu got inside, they began paddling to the starting line.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 1st Attempt**

"GO!"

Miu and Kazuichi each began rowing, but didn't notice that the chairs were meant to slide. They got around twenty meters before collapsing into the water.

"Dammit!" Miu shouted. "I knew we should've stayed at the goddamn chariots!"

"No!" Kazuichi replied. "This is actually doable! We just need practice!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki drove their way back into the heart of Athens as they got out in front of the Temple of Zeus.

"We're at this Temple, hopefully we can find Monokuma." Ibuki said. They ran into the temple and ran around on its grounds. "Where is he?"

After a few more minutes of circling around the temple, Leon stopped Ibuki. "Where? I can't find him!"

"_This temple was literally the size of a bungalow surrounded in completely flat land. When I did a full circle and couldn't find Monokuma anywhere, I knew something was up," Leon said. _

"Excuse me, sir?" Ibuki asked. "Is this the Temple of Poseidon?"

"Poseidon?" the man replied. "No. This is the Temple of Zeus."

"Zeus?" Leon asked. "Where is the Temple of Poseidon?"

"Oh, it's like an hour south of Athens." he replied. Leon gave Ibuki a deadpan.

"Oh my fucking god," Leon said. "We made our way all the way into Athens only for us to be going the wrong way the whole fucking time. This is stupid. STUPID STUPID STUPID. I hate Greece."

**Miu and Kazuichi: 4th Attempt**

"Come on, row!" Miu shouted. "Put those noodle arms to use!"

"I'm trying my hardest you know!" Kazuichi rebutted. This time, they didn't sink, but they reached the finish line in 2:30.

"No," The timer said. "Do it again!"

Then they flipped over. "Fuck!" Miu shouted. "We could be at the Pit Stop if you had just let us do the chariots!"

"You fell off the chariots too, so shut up about the damn chariots!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki drove back down and revisited the exact same gas station from earlier.

"Hi, it's us again!" Ibuki said. Leon was so angry he couldn't talk.

"Oh, what do you need?" the manager asked.

"We need to get to the Temple of Posiedon." Ibuki said. "Can you help us?"

He picked up Leon and Ibuki's map. "It's right here. At the very southern tip of the island. Just follow this route and you'll be fine."

He used a blue pen to trace a route for Leon and Ibuki as Ibuki grabbed Leon's hand and ran outside.

"Thank you again!" Ibuki shouted.

"I can't fucking believe this." Leon said.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 7th Attempt**

"Dammit!" Kazuichi shouted. "2:05. So close!"

"Oy, vey," Miu replied. "Let's do this again."

"Umm… actually…" the timer said. "It's getting too dark to let you two continue the Detour. You have one more chance before we close it."

"One more chance?" Miu asked. "Fine. We have to get it this time."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We wasted two hours in that," Leon said. "There is no way that Miu and Kazuichi are not done with their Detour yet. We're fucked." he said, giving a nervous laugh.

**Miu and Kazuichi: 8th Attempt**

"Kazuichi, we have to get this," Miu said. "Let's go."

They began rowing as they were going rather fast. "Come on… come on… come on…" Kazuichi murmured. They had almost made it to the end until they capsized into the water.

"FUCK!" Kazuichi shouted.

"Over here!" the timer said, pointing to the dock. They rowed over and stepped out.

"We have officially closed the Detour, so here is your next clue," the timer said. Miu grabbed and ripped it open.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Currently in Last Place.**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop." Miu read. "The Temple of Poseidon. Let's go."

She and Kazuichi stepped into the car.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"It's night… a clear indication that we're fucked." Leon said.

* * *

Monokuma awaited the next team underneath the Greek night sky. He watched as one team came out of their car and ran up the hill towards him.

"Miu and Kazuichi, you are the sixth team to arrive."

"We're still in this," Kazuichi said, hugging Miu in relief.

"However,"

Kazuichi looked up at Monokuma in disbelief.

"You had received the clue without completing the Detour or using an Express Pass, and for that, you have incurred a two-hour penalty."

Kazuichi fell to his knees while Miu looked with anguish.

"But- but we had no fucking choice! They closed the Detour!" Miu said. "God, you're such a picky bitch, Monokuma!"

"Regardless of the circumstances, you did not complete the Detour, so you have a penalty. We're being nice to you, actually. The regular penalty is six hours. Now please, go sit on the bench over there and wait out your penalty time."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Penalty time remaining: 2:00:00**

"Kazuishit, we could've avoided this by not switching detours and just getting the chariot thing done!"

"Well excuse me for not wanting to go to the hospital for brain damage!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I don't care anymore," Leon said. "We're out. Even if Chihiro and Hina were on that last flight, they would've overpassed us by now. Let's just find Monokuma and get eliminated.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Penalty time remaining: 1:36:42**

"You know, we had a decent race so far," Kazuichi said, on the verge of tears. "Like, we met, started the race, went to six countries, did all this shit, won a leg, got five hundred yen each..."

"Hopefully they're lost. Hopefully they don't reach the mat until a week from now." Miu said. "Hopefully they're fighting and on the side of the road, beating the shit out of each other. If they could get lost for this long, they could get lost for another two hours."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Damn it." Leon said. "Sorry, Ibuki, we're going home."

"Today could be a non-elimination," Ibuki said.

"That's positive thinking," Leon replied. "Let's just find Monokuma and get eliminated before we suffer more."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Penalty time remaining: 0:59:25**

"This is really painful to sit through," Kazucihi said.

"If you want to kill time, go to the bathroom to jack off."

"..."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I see it," Leon said. "I see a race arrow."

They got out of their car and picked up their bags, and made their way up to the mat, passing by Miu and Kazuichi who were in the shadows enough that they didn't see them.

**Miu and Kazuichi: Penalty time remaining: 0:16:28**

Kazuichi threw a water bottle on the ground and put his head in his knees.

"Leon and Ibuki…" Monokuma said. "Rough day?"

"Yeah…" Leon said. "Just tell us the bad news."

"I am sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive."

"We figured," Ibuki said.

"Are you done? Do you feel like you're done?"

"I don't want to be done, but that's the reality." Leon said.

"Once again, you are the last team to arrive. However,"

Leon and Ibuki listened in closer.

"Miu and Kazuichi have incurred a penalty. You checked in before their penalty time was over, so you are officially team number six."

**Leon and Ibuki: 6th Place**

Leon and Ibuki looked up. "W-We're still in the race?"

"You're joking!" Ibuki said, holding her hands on her 'horns' with ecstasy.

"Miu and Kazuichi, please come to the mat."

They walked up to the mat, either sniffling or aggravated.

"Miu and Kazuichi, I am sorry to say that you are officially the last team to arrive. And I'm sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Miu and Kazuichi: Eliminated**

"Dammit," Kazuichi said. "I felt like we could've done better had we gotten a little further in this competition."

"We're still friends, right?" Miu asked.

"I guess you can say so... " Kazuichi replied. "An interesting friendship to say the least."

"At least we gave it our all," Miu said. She and Kazuichi turned away from the Pit Stop and the temple, and walked off.

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg: **

1st: Nagito and Nekomaru

2nd: Makoto and Sayaka

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th: Hajime and Chiaki

5th: Leon and Ibuki

6th: Miu and Kazuichi

7th: Chihiro and Hina

_ **Eliminated: Tenko and Himiko** _

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Makoto and Sayaka

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th:Hajime and Chiaki

5th: Nagito and Nekomaru

6th: Leon and Ibuki

_ **Eliminated: Miu and Kazuichi** _

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.50

Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.17

Makoto and Sayaka: 3.33

Hajime and Chiaki: 4.50

Chihiro and Hina: 5.33

Leon and Ibuki: 5.50

_ **Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80** _

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts: **

Makoto 4, Sayaka 3

Chihiro 3, Hina 4

Shuichi 4, Kaede 3

Hajime 4, Chiaki 3

Nagito 3, Nekomaru 4

Leon 3, Ibuki 4

_ **Miu 3, Kazuichi 4** _

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

The final six travel to Port Elizabeth, South Africa where Nagito meets his match.

_Nagito pointed at a cheetah, who tried to attack him through the fence. "I see you! You can't kill me! Because you're just a stupid cheetah!" _

Teams get themselves into nail biting situations.

_Hina diving in the water, sharks instantly swarming around her. "EEK!" _

And the divide between the teams continues.

"_We need to demolish that alliance." Nekomaru said. "Take out as many members as we can."_

"_Anyone who isn't part of the alliance is someone who needs to leave." Makoto said. _

Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Holy shit this chapter is long, the longest one yet. But anyways, we are officially halfway through the race. Please be sure to follow, favorite, leave kudos, and comment. Keep in mind that the next upload will be Elimination Station, not the South Africa leg. That will come after. This is also your last chance to ask questions to the eliminated teams that will be answered in the Q&A. If you want to ask questions to teams not eliminated yet, you can wait until the 2nd Elimination Station, which will take place right before the finale (even the final 3 will be asked questions). Even if you don't have any questions, please comment and review because I love to see who reads my stories and I love to hear feedback, and please tell me your predictions and hopes for the second half of the season.**


	13. Leg 7.1

**A/N: I know I said there would be an Elimination Station episode now, but while I was writing it, I realized that I didn't really know what to do, it felt tedious, and I really wasn't having much fun with it compared to the race chapters. So instead, I decided to work on the next leg. If you guys really do want an Elimination Station chapter, just let me know and I'll try my best to finish it right before the finale.**

* * *

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

Seven teams raced from Marrakech, Morocco to Athens, Greece. There, teams faced an ancient detour.

_*Hina, Nekomaru, and Kazuichi sword fighting*_

At the Detour, Makoto and Sayaka rowed themselves to victory.

"_I am proud to tell you that you are team number ONE!"_Meanwhile, Leon and Ibuki got lost due to the self-drive.

"_This is a… long drive," Leon said. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"_

"_I'm soooooo certain," Ibuki replied. "Just keep going on this road."_

In the end, a choice of switching Detours coupled with the closing of the Detours gave Miu and Kazuichi a penalty, which ultimately kicked them out of the race.

"_Miu and Kazuichi, I am sorry to say that you are officially the last team to arrive. And I'm sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."_

Six teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

_ **This is the Temple of Poseidon, an old Greek temple honoring the god of the sea. Just a few miles south of Athens, it will now be where six teams begin the next leg of the Amazing Race.** _

_ **Makoto and Sayaka won the previous leg, and will depart at 5:32 AM.** _

**Makoto and Sayaka: 1st to depart, 5:32 AM**

Makoto ripped the clue open. "Fly to Port Elizabeth, South Africa!"

"Africa?" Sayaka asked.

**[i] Proceed to: Port Elizabeth, South Africa**

_ **Teams must now leave Europe and fly over the entire continent of Africa to reach Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Once teams arrive, they must make their way to Route 67, an outdoor museum with 67 pieces of artwork to commemorate Nelson Mandela's 67 years of life. It is here that teams will find their next clue.** _

"I can't believe it. We're going to Africa!" Makoto shouted, shoving their stuff into a waiting cab.

"_We're hoping that this Africa leg showers us with good luck," Sayaka said. "We won yesterday. Hopefully we can get a streak going and win this leg too. And the next. And the next."_

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd to depart, 5:34 AM**

"Fly to South Africa!" Hina shouted. Chihiro cheered.

"_After our really terrible legs in Paris and Morocco, I think we're actually building up some steam," Chihiro said. "We're leaving today in second. That's a huge leap from eighth and seventh."_

"_It just shows that at this point, after learning a lot about the Race and what works and what doesn't work, we can actually become a force to be reckoned with," Hina explained. "We tripped and got back up. And this time, we're looking where we're running."_

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"There's only one flight today?" Makoto asked. The agent nodded. "Bummer. But that's alright. As long as I'm not on a rope swing, we can make it through."

* * *

The first four teams awaited at their gate.

"Where are Nagito and Nekomaru?" Shuichi asked.

"Hopefully they went home," Makoto replied. "I think they're a huge pain to race with."

"You're right. I am a huge pain," Nagito said, approaching from behind.

"Where the hell were you?" Hajime asked.

"We got lost for a few hours before the Detour," Nekomaru said, laughing.

"Who do you think went home yesterday?" Chihiro asked. "Between Leon and Ibuki and Miu and Kazuichi."

"Not sure," Nagito said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We actually saw Miu and Kazuichi while leaving the Detour, but Leon and Ibuki could've gotten the other one done faster."

"Well.. I guess we'll see…" Shuichi said. "I really hope it's Leon and Ibuki."

They waited for a few more minutes until Leon and Ibuki rounded the corner of the airport.

"Woohoo!" Sayaka shouted, clapping. Chihiro and Hina as well as Nagito and Nekomaru rolled their eyes.

"_We were actually really upset to see Leon and Ibuki still in it," Chihiro said. "We need to break up that alliance, and that goal doesn't seem to be doing well right now."_

"_There are six teams left, and three are still part of that alliance," Hina explained. "That doesn't seem good for us."_

"What happened yesterday? Anything interesting?" Kaede asked.

"We got real lost," Leon replied. "We actually came in last but luckily, Miu and Kazuichi had a penalty and we were saved."

"Wow," Shuichi said. As Leon and Ibuki began telling their alliance members about the previous leg, Nagito and Nekomaru pulled aside Hajime and Chiaki and Chihiro and Hina.

"What's this about?" Hina asked.

"I'm sure you've noticed the alliance going on," Nagito said.

"What about it?" Hajime questioned. "It's not really a secret anymore. If they wanted to hide it, they're doing a terrible job."

"WE WANT TO BREAK IT UP!" Nekomaru shouted.

"Nekomaru, quiet!" Nagito shushed. "They're gonna hear!"

"Break it up?" Chihiro asked. "Is this another alliance?"

"Not really… I don't feel like joining an alliance will do us any good." Nagito said. "Let's just have an informal agreement to try and knock out that alliance."

"What good would that do us?" Hajime asked. "Why don't we just let them run their own race how they like it?"

"Well, that's the thing," Nagito replied. "It's a three-team alliance. I don't doubt that they will try to knock us three out so all three of them can make the finale."

"Alright," Chiaki said. "You have a point. That alliance is a danger to anyone who's not in it. But if we can, we need to target Shuichi and Kaede."

"Alright. We know what to do when we get to a U-turn, though." Hina said.

They all shook on their agreement.

* * *

_ **Teams are now en route to Port Elizabeth, South Africa via Johannesburg.** _

* * *

**Port Elizabeth International Airport: 1:49 PM**

"GO GO GO!" Makoto shouted. Each of the teams climbed into a cab.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Hi, we need to get to Route 67," Leon said.

"Route 67?" The driver asked. "Okay. 67."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Do you know how to get to Route 67?" Sayaka asked.

"Yes." the driver replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hey, up there, we need to pass that cab," Hina said. "That cab. Up there."

Their cab sped up.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Someone's passing us!" Kaede shouted.

"Sir, sir," Shuichi said. "Don't let that cab pass us. We're in a race for one hundred million yen. I don't know how much that is in South Africa money though."

Their cab sped up to keep up with Chihiro and Hina's.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We're halfway through the race," Hajime said. "And we have a fifty percent chance of making it to the finale, and one in six chance to win one hundred million yen."

"Those are good odds." Chiaki said. "But that doesn't mean we can't work hard or slack off."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Hopefully one of the musical teams gets eliminated today," Nagito said. "Hopefully it's Kaede and Shuichi. They're an extremely strong team."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina got out of their cab as they raced to the clue box in front.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Kragga Kamma Game Park," Chihiro read.

**[i] Proceed to: Kragga Kamma Game Park**

_ **Teams must now make their way to Kragga Kamma Game Park. Once they arrive, they must search the grounds for their next clue.** _

"Alright, let's go!" Hina shouted. "Where the hell is our cab?!"

Chihiro turned around and noted their cab had driven off.

"Good thing we had our bags on us. We didn't even pay him yet!" Chihiro said. "You have your passport, right?"

"..."

"Hina…"

"I have it."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I see the clue box," Ibuki pointed. They stepped out of their cab and ran up to it.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

They instantly ran back to their cab, who waited for them.

"Kragga Kamma Game Park," Leon said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"TAXI!" Hina shouted, waving her hands in the air. A taxi pulled over. "Kragga Kamma Game Park," Chihiro said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to Kragga Kamma Game Park" Nagito read.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Sayaka asked.

"Yes, yes," the driver replied.

They looked out the window as the clue box came into view. "Here would be fine," Makoto said. However, the driver didn't stop and drove right past it.

"No. We need to get out!"

The driver said nothing.

"Turn around!"

He waved a finger in the air for some reason.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Did Makoto and Sayaka just pass it?" Shuichi asked. "It's right here!"

"What happened?" Kaede asked. She shook her head and ripped the clue open.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"We need to get to Kragga Kamma Game Park," Shuichi said. The driver nodded as they got in.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It's right up there!" Hajime pointed.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"What are we going to do there?" Hajime asked. "Hunt?"

"I doubt they trust high schoolers with guns," Chiaki said.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"What are you doing? Turn around!" Makoto shouted.

The driver continued driving.

"Do you even speak English?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, yes."

"Do you not speak English?"

"Yes, yes."

"Are you going to make us come in last?"

"Yes, yes."

"Sayaka, let's just get out. We can walk from here."

"Fine," Sayaka said. They threw their cash at the driver as they stepped out and ran back to the clue box.

"Great. All the clues are gone." Makoto said, grabbing the last clue and ripping it open.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to Kragga Kamma Game Park," Sayaka read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Maybe we're going on some kind of safari?" Ibuki suggested.

Their cab approached the park as Leon and Ibuki stepped out of their cab, with Chihiro and Hina's cab pulling up right behind them.

"Oh my god I think we're in first!" Leon said. He opened the clue. "All the clues are there."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Route Info," Ibuki read.

_ **Kragga Kamma Game Park is a nature reserve home to several species including rhinos, giraffes, and of course, South African Cheetahs. The cheetahs in particular have their own enclosure where visitors can watch them from a safe distance.** _

**[i] Feed Cheetahs**

_ **In this challenge, teams must butcher and prepare a gazelle for consumption. Once the judge has given his approval, they must feed the meat to the cheetahs to receive their next clue.** _

Leon and Ibuki ran over to the demonstration table. "How do we do this?"

The instructor laid down a headless gazelle on the table.

"Oh my god, we have to work with that?" Ibuki asked.

The instructor ignored her and began slicing it down the middle to take out the internal organs.

"I'm gonna hurl…" Ibuki said.

"Keep it in!" Leon scolded.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Oh, no!" Hina shouted. "I don't know what's happening but it looks and smells disgusting,"

"Are we dissecting a giant deer?" Chihiro asked, pale as a sheet.

Once the instructor had taken out the organs, he cleaned it and began using a knife to take the skin off around the body. Chihiro and the girls looked like they were about to puke.

"I don't like this," Chihiro said.

Once the gazelle was fully skinned, they began slicing the legs off and dividing the body into several segments, then carefully using the knife to remove the bones.

"Is that it?" Leon asked.

"Yes," the instructor replied. Chihiro and Hina and Leon and Ibuki ran over to their respective stations.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Butcher? Allright." Nekomaru said.

"I think I can do this." Nagito said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

Shuichi and Kaede watched the demo, with Kaede watching in horror.

"Oh, god, do we really have to do that?" Kaede asked.

"We do," Shuichi replied. "Don't think about it too much."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon sliced the belly open, and reached inside for all of the guts and organs.

"Bleck!" Ibuki shouted. Leon teased her by waving it in front of her face.

**Hina and Chihiro**

Chihiro held the knife. "This feels wrong," He said.

"I don't like this," Hina replied. After Chihiro made the incision, Hina reached in to pull out the organs with her left hand, and pinching the bridge of her nose with the other. "This is like surgery. But more disturbing."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Unlike the others who arrived, Nagito and Nekomaru did not seem too disgusted by the gazelle. They quickly overtook Leon and Ibuki by getting rid of the organs and already beginning to take off the skin from the gazelle.

"This is a piece of cake," Nekomaru said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi was slicing the gazelle open while Kaede just watched with wide eyes.

"Can I have some help?" Shuichi asked.

"Uhh…"

"_Shuichi might have some experience with death and gross stuff and these *ahem* smells." Kaede said. "But me, I'm just a pianist. I literally press buttons with my fingers. I'm not used to slicing open dead animals."_

"I'm gonna vomit," Kaede said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"This is like anatomy class," Hajime said. Chiaki watched the demonstration with little emotion on her face.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

Makoto and Sayaka both turned green while watching the demo. "...Shuichi? Do you have that spare Express Pass?" Sayaka asked.

"Sorry. It's gone." Shuichi replied. "Don't think about it too much. It's not that bad."

"I beg to differ," Kaede said, hunching over the table.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nekomaru sliced off the legs and began slicing the skin off each individual piece.

"I don't understand why the others are complaining so much," Nagito said. "It's not _that_ gross."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki cut the meat off the bones and threw the bones on the floor. "Ibuki thinks this is better than cutting off the skin."

Leon sliced off the last chunk of meat off the body. "Can we get a check?"

The judge walked up and inspected the meat. "It's good," he said. "Haul a big chunk of meat over to the bridge and drop it into the cheetah enclosure."

Leon and Ibuki picked up the chunks of meat and walked over to the cheetah enclosure.

"Oh! Cheetahs!" Ibuki shouted. "Hi kitties!"

The cheetahs crowded around below them as Leon and Ibuki chucked the meat pieces down. The cheetahs growled as they ate the meat. After the meat was gone, the employee handed over their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to the Port Elizabeth Harbor and search for your next clue," Leon read.

**[i] Proceed to: Port Elizabeth Harbor**

"Let's go," Leon said. "Port Elizabeth Harbor… are we fishing? Or swimming?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Check?" Nagito asked.

"It's good," the judge replied. "Carry some meat over to the enclosure and feed it to the cheetahs."

Nagito and Nekomaru picked up huge chunks of meat as they walked over to the enclosure. However, a cheetah lunged at Nagito through the fence as he was passing by.

"I see you! You can't kill me! You're just a stupid cheetah!"

They got onto the overpass and chucked the meat down at the cheetahs.

"Here you go," the employee said, handing them the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Come on!" Nekomaru encouraged, gripping Nagito's wrist and pulling him back in front to the taxis.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Can I have some kind of surgical mask or some kind of nose guard?" Makoto asked. "Or gloves at the least? My hands are so bloody."

"Your hands are bloody? Shuichi shouted. "My hands aren't bloody."

"Me neither," Hina said.

Makoto looked down and noticed a huge gash on his wrist. "When did that get there?"

The medic arrived and pulled Makoto to the side. "Sorry, we're going to have to treat that before you continue."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Check." Shuichi said. The judge walked over and gave them a thumbs' up.

"Alright," Kaede said. They picked up the meat and hauled it over to the cheetah enclosure. Shuichi leaned over as Kaede gave him a little playful shove.

"AUGGAHHFH!" He shouted. "What the hell?"

"Hehe…"

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"We're going to the harbor," Shuichi said, stepping into their cab. "Hopefully it's not a swimming challenge. We don't want Hina to have an advantage."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Check?" Chihiro asked. The judge walked up and approved it. Chihiro carried a large piece of meat on his shoulder while Hina picked up the largest one and slung it around her neck.

After walking not very long to the overpass, they chucked it over the side as the employee handed over the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"We lost some time there," Chihiro said. "Hopefully we can make it back up at this harbor. Maybe some kind of aquatics challenge?"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime continued slicing the skin off the meat. "How did they get this done so fast?" He asked.

"Don't worry about them. Makoto and Sayaka are still behind us."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto came back with a huge bandage over his right wrist. "Alright, let's get back to this."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon looked behind their cab as Nagito and Nekomaru pulled up right behind them.

"What? How'd they catch up so fast?" Leon asked. "Sir, sir, you need to go faster. We're in a huge race for a lot of money."

"Okay,"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Go! Pass them! Pass them!" Nekomaru encouraged. Their driver passed Leon and Ibuki's cab.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Agh! Nooo!" Leon shouted. He looked behind them again to see Shuichi and Kaede there.

"Them too?" Ibuki asked. Their driver separated from Nagito and Nekomaru's, and turned left.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"What just happened?" Kaede asked. "Leon and Ibuki's cab just turned left, and ours continued straight."

"Oh my god…" Shuichi said, hands on his hat. "I hope we're going the right way."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"They just turned left," Nekomaru said, turning around. "And it looks like Shuichi and Kaede are keeping straight with us."

"Leon and Ibuki… they're probably going home today." Nagito said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Can we get a check please?" Chiaki asked. The judge walked over and gave them a thumbs' up.

They carried the meat over and chucked it over the bridge.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 5th Place**

"I think we can make up time on the others," Hajime said. "They didn't leave too long ago."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Sorry, Sayaka," Makoto said.

Sayaka looked up to him. "It's not your fault. What are you apologizing for?"

"Slicing my hand. The time it took for the medic to treat it was probably enough to stall us a few minutes."

"We can catch up. Don't worry."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Their cab stopped as Nagito and Nekomaru stepped out. "Stay." Nagito pointed. Then, they ran over to the clue box in front of a bunch of shipping containers.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to explore the deep?"

**[R] Explore the Deep**

_ **In this Roadblock, one team member must take a boat out to the middle of the cape. Once the boat stops, that team member must gear up in scuba gear and dive into the water. Using this ring of keys, teams must search through one hundred and fifty submerged boxes, of which only ten contain their next clue. However, what teams don't know is that these waters are home to some... frightening residents.** _

"I'll do it," Nekomaru said.

"Are you sure?" Nagito asked. "You did the last Roadblock."

"I think I can handle it," Nekomaru replied. "I'm great at swimming."

"Alright," Nagito said. They opened it and read it as Nekomaru silently swore. "Shit."

"_So the thing about Roadblocks that most people don't understand on the Race," Nagito explained. "Is that when you get a Roadblock clue, you're only given a prompt such as 'Who wants to explore the deep' or something like that. You have to actually pick the person who's doing that Roadblock just from that prompt, and you're not allowed to read the rest of the clue until you've picked the person."_

"Damn, it's a luck challenge," Nagito said. "Well… hopefully since you're on my team, my luck will roll over to you. Good luck."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock," Kaede read. "I'll do it."

**Nekomaru**

Nagito awaited on the dock as Nekomaru stepped out onto the boat, and got inside to begin changing into a wetsuit and a snorkelling set.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Roadblock," Chihiro read. "This is all you. This has to be some kind of swimming challenge."

"Alright," Hina replied, tugging on her track jacket. "I've been itching for a swimming challenge!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka threw their meat over the bridge as the judge handed them the clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"I'm sorry," Makoto said.

"Stop apologizing. It's alright, but all we can do now is hope we can crawl in front of another team at the Detour or Roadblock."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Where are you going?" Leon scolded. The driver pulled over and ran into a hotel for directions.

"Really? You don't know where your own city's harbor is? Stupid. There goes our lead."

The driver ran back outside.

"Took you long enough!" Leon shouted.

"Ibuki says to get us there rapidamundo!"

"I don't think that's a word." Leon replied. "In any language."

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru's boat stopped in the middle of the sea.

"Alright, so you're going to just jump off the boat and search underwater for the chests. All of the chests are within the buoy markers." the instructor said. "Use this ring of keys to open the chests."

He handed Nekomaru a ring of five keys and clipped it to his wetsuit. "And one more thing, don't be scared."

"Be scared?" Nekomaru asked. He sighed and dove into the water.

Swimming under the sea, he saw a chest floating, suspended by the bottom with a chain. He went through each of the keys, but struggled inserting them. After concluding that the first key didn't work, he moved onto the next one.

**Kaede**

Kaede's ship went right next to Nekomaru's as the instructor handed her the ring of keys.

"Do I have to wear these goggles and snorkels?" Kaede asked. "They kind of obstruct my vision."

The instructor nodded as she sighed and stepped into the water.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki rode in their cab.

"Do you think at the next challenge, we should work with Nagito and Nekomaru or Hina and Chihiro?" Chiaki asked.

"I would if they're willing to," Hajime replied. "They're right. We need to knock that alliance out. But I won't be crying if Nagito and Nekomaru go home today."

"_True, we joined that 'pact' to tear down that alliance," Hajime said. "But still, we are racing, and it is a competition between the strongest. The two teams that we want to go to finals with are Chihiro and Hina, and Leon and Ibuki, because I think those are the two teams that would provide the least threat to us."_

"_Not to mention we are on good terms with Chihiro and Hina," Chiaki replied. "After that U-turn plan in Brazil, we're somewhat tightly knit. But if they go home, so be it."_

**Hina**

Hina jumped into the water as sharks began to swarm around her. "EEK!" she shouted. Both Kaede and Nekomaru looked up at her.

"Oh my god!" Kaede shouted.

"AAAUUUUGHHHH!" Nekomaru screamed.

Then, the sharks dispersed.

"What was that?" Hina asked. The instructor looked down from the boat.

"He… hehe… sharks are native to this area of the bay. Don't worry, if you don't attack them, they won't attack you."

"Wow… thanks for warning us!" Hina shouted.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Nekomaru screamed.

**Nekomaru**

After the shark scare, Nekomaru dove back down again and continued trying the keys.

"Dammit!" he shouted, coming back up for air. "Why aren't any of these keys working?"

"_During the Roadblock, I tried all five of my keys on around ten different boxes, and none of them worked," Nekomaru explained._

"This is my tenth box now!" Nekomaru shouted. "Come on! One of these keys has to work!"

**Kaede**

"It's my fifth box," Kaede said. "None of the keys work… there's something that I'm not seeing here."

"_I tried all of my keys on a few boxes, and it seemed like all of my keys were incompatible with the boxes." Kaede explained. "I figured if that's how the challenge was, the challenge would be something like 'each box opens with a different key, most of them are empty'. But since none of the keys worked, and it looked like Nekomaru was getting nowhere, I thought there was some kind of trick to this, so I went back on board the ship to check my clue for any tricky wording."_

Kaede climbed the ladder back up to the ship and ran over to the clue. As she read over it, her eyes centered on 'Use the ring of keys'.

"Ring of keys?" Kaede asked. "Why not just the word 'keys'?"

"_So I realized that the clue told us to 'use the ring of keys', when they could've just said 'use the keys', so I suspected that the ring itself was part of the solution to opening them."_

Kaede looked down at the ring, and noticed that right where the ring closed, there were two little protrusions on the end that when you would uncurl the ring, it would be key-shaped at the end. She slid all of the keys off the ring and unravelled the ring, leaving her with a large key.

"Wow, that's tricky," Kaede said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Roadblock," Hajime read. "I think you should do it, to you know, balance out the Roadblock count"

"Alright… I'm not the best at swimming but I guess this would be alright."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"There's Hajime and Chiaki," Sayaka said. "We've caught up to them!"

They ran outside and ripped the clue open. "Roadblock," Makoto read. "I think this is all you."

**Hina**

After trying all of the keys on her first box, Hina looked up at Kaede exiting her boat again with a giant key in her hand the same size and color as their keyring.

"Huh?" Hina asked, looking at her ring of keys. Then, she noticed the protrusions on top. "Oh. Oooooh. That's clever; I never would've gotten that.

Hina took off the keys from the ring and clenched them in her hand as she unravelled the keyring. Diving down, she inserted the new keyring as it clicked and opened the lock. Inside the box were two words.

'Try Again'

**Nekomaru**

A few minutes later, Nekomaru had not figured out the key mechanism but had noticed he was coming across open and empty boxes.

"Did they figure it out?" Nekomaru asked. "Shit. AOI!"

"Yeah?" Hina replied.

"How do you do this?"

**Hina**

"You want me to help you?" Hina asked.

"Yes, please,"

"_I know Nagito and Nekomaru are in the pact with us to try and take out the alliance," Hina explained, "But I really need to jump ahead and help us finally get a win in this competition. We hadn't formally agreed to help each other, so I came up with a compromise."_

"Once I've found the clue, I'll tell you the secret," Hina shouted.

"Fine by me," Nekomaru replied.

**Kaede**

As Kaede was swimming, she froze as a shark swam across her leg.

"Hggnnnnn…." she whimpered. Then it vanished as she continued swimming to a box. Then, she dove down and opened it.

"Try again,"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Where are you going?" Leon asked. "God, we get the worst luck with navigation and getting places."

"Ibuki thinks we should get another taxi."

Leon and Ibuki got out of their taxi and began running around downtown Port Elizabeth.

"Taxi! Taxi!" Ibuki shouted, waving her hand. Several taxis went by, but none stopped to pick them up.

"Dammit," Leon said. "We're screwed. Again."


	14. Leg 7.2

**Kaede**

Kaede opened another box. Empty.

"Really?" she asked, popping her head back up to the surface. "How many has it been?"

**Hina**

Hina unlocked a box as a laminated clue was waiting for her. She clipped it to the carabiner on her wetsuit as she swam up to the surface.

"I got it!" she shouted, swimming over to Nekomaru.

"What is it?" Nekomaru asked.

"The key ring itself is the key," Hina replied. "Just bend it."

Nekomaru looked at the keyring and unbent it, revealing its hidden key.

"Thanks," Nekomaru said. Hina got into the boat as it went back to shore.

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru was now opening boxes, but most of them were still empty.

"Come on!" Nekomaru shouted. A shark swam past his face.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki looked at her key ring. Why was it so abnormal? "Is this something?"

**Sayaka**

Sayaka tried to force the keys into the lockhole, but nothing came out of it. "What?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Taxi!" Ibuki shouted. One finally came over. "Finally,"

They stepped in. "We need to get to Port Elizabeth Harbor, as fast as possible," Leon said. The driver nodded and drove off.

"We probably should've saved the Express Pass." Leon said.

**Kaede**

Kaede unlocked a box as it revealed the clue. She grabbed it and swam back to her boat.

"Finally… that took way too long," she said. "Hopefully we can catch up with Chihiro and Hina."

**Hina**

Hina's boat came back into the harbor as she stepped off.

"You did it!" Chihiro exclaimed. "We're first!"

"Hopefully we can hold onto that" Hina replied. She ripped it open.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Nelson Mandela University Library," Chihiro read.

**[i] Proceed to: Nelson Mandela University Library**

"Let's go!" Chihiro said.

**Kaede**

"Hina left around ten minutes ago," Kaede said. "It shouldn't be too much to catch up by. If we can just knock out the next challenge fast, we can possibly get another win in today."

Their boat approached the dock as she jumped off and hugged Shuichi.

"Good jo-gah! Just… just open the clue."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Nelson Mandela University Library," Shuichi read.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Leon read. "I'll do it."

"What happened to you two?" Makoto asked.

"Stupid cab driver took us half an hour in the wrong direction," Leon replied. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"Around half an hour," Makoto replied. "I don't know what's happening out there. Chihiro and Hina and Kaede and Shuichi just left. Nekomaru's been out there for around forty-five minutes."

**Sayaka**

"Come on!" Sayaka shouted, fumbling with the keys. "Is this some kind of weird set of keys?"

She dove back down again and tried to shove the keys into the slot, and ended up breaking one of the keys.

"Did I screw this up? Did I just break the challenge?"

**Chiaki**

Chiaki bent the keyring and observed it. "Is this a key of some sort?"

She dove down and plugged it into the key hole, turned it, and retrieved a clue from the box.

"Got it," she said, putting the clue into her mouth and paddling back to her boat.

"What the shit?" Nekomaru asked.

"_After Chiaki figures out the secret," Nekomaru said. "Literally the first box she opens is the clue. Meanwhile, I'm over here, opening up twenty-ish boxes, and nothing!"_

"_Your luck is almost as bad as mine!" Nagito shouted._

"_I doubt that."_

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina and Chihiro sat in the taxi, excited. "We're in first!" Hina shouted.

"Let's maintain that through the Detour," Chihiro replied. Their cab stopped as they ran outside to the university.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Route Info."

_ **South Africa is one of the most diverse nations in the world. In fact, South Africa has over ten official languages, a fact that teams will soon realize when they search through a sea of students and foreign languages.** _

**[i] Select Language**

_ **In this challenge, teams must pick up a vinyl record and listen to a passage entirely in the South African language of Zulu. Once teams have listened to it, they must make their way outside to the courtyard, where they must search the crowd filled with 200 students speaking various South African languages for one in six students reciting the passage in Zulu. Once they have found the student, they must bring them to the librarian, who will give them their next clue.** _

"That sounds hard." Chihiro said.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go do this!" Hina shouted, running into the library.

**Nekomaru**

Nekomaru opened up a box and finally got a clue. "Finally," he shouted. He climbed up the ladder as the boat driver began going back to the port.

**Leon**

Leon dove into the water and ignored all of the sharks swarming around him.

"Move, please," he said. The sharks dispersed as he dove down and tried the keys. When none of them worked, he went back to the surface.

"Sayaka, found anything?" Leon asked.

"I haven't found any leads for half an hour," Sayaka replied. "I must've gone through all of the boxes. None of them worked with my keys."

"None?" Leon asked. "You're probably missing a few."

"Everyone else's come and gone. I noticed them opening around half of them, even ones that don't have a clue inside."

"..."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

Shuichi and Kaede read the clue. "That sounds hard," Shuichi said. "Let's do it."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina grabbed a record and placed it on the player as a voice began to come out of it.

"IsiZulu siwulimi olukhulunywa kakhulu eNingizimu Afrika, futhi bangaphezulu kwamaphesenti angamashumi amahlanu abantu abakwaziyo ukusikhuluma. Ngemuva kwesiSwahili, kungulimi lwesibili olukhulunywa kunazo zonke olimini lwesiBantu futhi ibhalwe ngezinhlamvu zesiLatin."

"..."

"Oh my god there's no way." Hina said. "There's no way."

"Let's just try to listen to it again," Chihiro replied, playing the record again.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"What is that?" Shuichi asked, listening to Chihiro and Hina's audio recording.

"That's what we're looking for," Chihiro replied. Kaede's jaw dropped.

"Should we whip out the Express Pass?" Kaede asked.

"No, I think we should save it," Shuichi replied. "Let's just try to see if we can get this done before other teams get here."

**Chihiro and Hina**

They ran outside and ran their way over to the courtyard.

"OH MY GOD!" Hina shouted.

"_There was like, a sea of people," Hina explained. "Like, they were only around two meters apart from each other, and all speaking something different, and talking over each other. It was absolute chaos."_

They walked up to the first person.

"Andinguye umntu ondijongileyo. Ndithetha isixhosa, hayi isiZulu."

"I can't hear you because of the kajillion people talking over you!" Hina shouted. "Damn, this is so frustrating."

"I don't think that was it," Chihiro said. "Let's move onto the next person."

"Ek praat op die oomblik Afrikaans, 'n taal afkomstig van Nederlands."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru sat in the cab.

"I'm sorry, Nagito," Nekomaru said. "There was a trick to it, but I fell victim to bad luck."

"It's okay that your luck is garbage like me. No one controls luck. Even my talent, the Ultimate Lucky Student, isn't really a talent."

"HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF!" Nekomaru shouted. The driver swerved in reaction and almost got into a car accident.

"In fact, even though I am trying my best, I really don't mind if I lose." Nagito said. "If we lose, we'll just be a stepping stone for the better, more capable and hopeful teams."

"I don't like your mindset, but as long as you're trying your best."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede walked around the grid of speaking students. "This is impossible." Kaede said. "We can't do this."

"_Bleh ble bleh bleh bleeeh." Kaede said. "That's what I heard in that massive field of clashing languages. Not like it would be any better if they were spaced out."_

"What if we literally just try to grab people one by one." Shuichi said. "There are two hundred people here, and we're literally right in front of the library so there won't be too much time wasted by just grabbing people and going back and forth. Three percent chance to get it on the first try, six percent on the second… our odds I think would be really good."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I don't know… I can't hear him that well." Chihiro said, leaning in to listen to a young boy.

"What?"

"I CAN'T HEAR HIM WELL BUT IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR!"

"Let's just take him."

"What?"

"_These people weren't just quietly talking. They were shouting and it was really difficult to understand anything your partner were to try and tell you." Chihiro explained._

Hina grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him all the way to the library, where the librarian stood outside.

**Chihiro and Hina: 1st Attempt**

"No," the librarian said. The man ran all the way back to the courtyard.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede pulled the first student on the first row.

"No," she said.

"It doesn't matter." Shuichi said. They simply ran and pulled the second person on the first row.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 2nd Attempt**

"No."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Okay," Hajime read. "Let's go do this."

They made their way to the courtyard in front of the library. "Oh my god." Chiaki said. "That sounds near impossible."

"_We hadn't even listened to the vinyl record when we noticed the chaos coming from the front of the library." Hajime said. "And we deemed… that was near impossible. There's no way to distinguish what person is saying what"_

"Let's just listen to the recording," Chiaki said. "It's better than not listening to it."

**Sayaka**

Sayaka got a new set of keys and continued trying the boxes. "Come on! My fingers are getting wrinkly!"

**Leon**

"I am this close to losing my shit." Leon said. He tried to force a key into the lock, but it wouldn't budge.

"FUCK THIS!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 7th Attempt**

Shuichi brought their seventh guy up to the librarian.

"It's good," the librarian said, forking over their clue.

"Woohoo!" Kaede shouted. Shuichi ripped it open.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Drive yourselves to your next Pit Stop." Shuichi read.

**[i] Drive to Pit Stop: Seal Point Lighthouse**

_ **Teams must now drive themselves almost two hours to the Seal Point Lighthouse in the town of Cape St. Francis. The last team to check in with me at the mat, may be eliminated.** _

"Alright, let's go!" Kaede shouted. "I'm so pumped up! We're gonna get first again!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Shuichi said. "Let's go. Parking lot! Fast!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"This guy," Chihiro said. "I'm certain this is familiar."

"WHAT?"

"LET'S TAKE THIS GUY!"

Chihiro signaled for him to follow them as they ran to the librarian.

"Correct," the librarian said, handing them their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"They left not even a minute ago. We can beat them today and actually get a first place!" Hina said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Here's our marked cars." Shuichi said. "Come on, Shuichi!"

They got inside as Shuichi turned the key in the ignition. "Alright, let's go!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There they go!" Chihiro pointed. "Follow them!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"Let's just turn this into a luck challenge," Nagito said. "Don't even bother with that 'record' thing."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I think I've got him!" Hajime shouted. Chiaki nodded as they led him to the librarian.

"Congratulations," the judge said. "Here is your next clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Let's hang onto this lead we have on the others," Hajime said.

**Leon, Sayaka**

"Gah!" Leon shouted, banging his fist against the hull of the boat. "How long have we been here?!"

"Two hours," Sayaka replied. She continued diving down and trying the keys, but none of them worked.

"Is there something we're missing?" Sayaka asked. Leon dove down again and tried the keys, but stopped.

"That's it, I give up." Leon said.

Sayaka got up on her boat again and read through the clue. "Use the ring of keys to open the boxes. That's what I've been doing!"

Leon tried to get on the boat to get a birds' eye view, but he couldn't see any of the boxes.

"Is the boundaries larger than I thought?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru picked out a random person and brought him to the librarian.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 1st Attempt**

"That's correct," the librarian said, giving them the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 4th Place**

"I guess we are lucky today," Nekomaru said. "This challenge looks awful."

"We don't have to do it. Let's get to the Pit Stop before the other two teams catch up."

* * *

Makoto and Ibuki were lounging around by the harbor.

"What is taking them so long?" Makoto asked.

"I'm not sure… but it must be something." Ibuki replied. "You know what they say, it's raining cats and dogs out there!"

"I'm not sure that's what that expression means."

"I probably shouldn't say things I don't understand! Come on! Your tension is super loooooww! Get a grin back on that face!"

"Did Shuichi give you the express pass by the way?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, they did, back in Morocco, but we used it last leg."

"What? Why?"

"We got very lost and thought we were very far behind Miu and Kazuichi. I think it was the right choice, because they only had around fifteen freakishly long minutes left on that despicable timer before we arrived."

"This is stressful and boring," Makoto said.

"Wanna headbang?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Chihiro and Hina are right on our tail," Kaede said, turning around and staring at them. "I think they're following us."

"It's gonna be a footrace to the mat," Shuichi replied. "I know Hina's good at running but I doubt Chihiro can keep up with her."

Monokuma awaited at the lighthouse as the two cars parked.

"GO! RUN!" Hina shouted.

"We can beat them!" Shuichi yelled. Shuichi and Kaede landed on the mat seconds before Chihiro and Hina.

"Shuichi and Kaede," Monokuma said. "I am proud to tell you that you are team number ONE!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Place**

"YEAAAAAHHHH!" Kaede shouted, jumping up and down.

"And of course," Monokuma said. "Chihiro and Hina, you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"2nd place again… not bad… but we still want that gold medal," Hina pouted.

"Now, because you're both on the mat, Chihiro and Hina, you get to hear what Kaede and Shuichi won that you lost!"

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted. "That's just cruel."

"Shuichi and Kaede, what do people want more than anything?"

"Money?" Shuichi asked.

"Yes, that's right. Money!" Monokuma announced. "And for winning this leg of the race, you have received 750,000 Yen!"

"Wooaahh!" Shuichi cheered.

"Are you kidding me?" Kaede asked.

"I am kidding you." Monokuma said. Their smiles disappeared.

"What… what do you mean?" Kaede asked.

"I'm kidding you because you haven't won 750,000 yen. You've won 750,000 Yen EACH."

"WHAT?" Shuichi asked. "OH MY GOD!"

"Well, we're happy for you," Chihiro said.

Hina put a hand behind her neck. "But look after your back. We'll win it tomorrow."

"We'll see about that," Shuichi said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It's a long drive," Chiaki said. "There's a huge possibility of getting lost, so we have to be careful."

"We've been driving for around an hour," Hajime said. "God, I hope we're going in the right direction."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"I think I see Hajime and Chiaki's car up ahead." Nagito said.

"Alright, I'll see if I can pass them."

Nekomaru floored the pedal as they passed Hajime and Chiaki

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"What? No!" Hajime shouted. He tried to speed up and pass them again, but he couldn't risk getting a speeding ticket.

"It's alright," Chiaki said. "Let it go. Getting 3rd this leg doesn't make that much of a difference than getting 4th."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru cheered as they heard a silent *POP*

"What was that?" Nagito asked. Suddenly, the car swerved to the left and swerved off the road.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"What was that?" Hajime asked. "What just happened?"

"Looks like they got a flat tire," Chiaki replied. Hajime pulled up next to them and stopped.

"Are you two alright?"

"We're fine. We just need a change in tire." Nagito replied. "Just my luck."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Alright… well I guess we're off…" Hajime said. Nagito waved as they sped off into the distance.

**Leon, Sayaka**

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!" Leon shouted, probably scaring off all of the sharks within a 100-mile radius.

Sayaka dove down again. Once again, the keys didn't work. "Come on! I have to be doing something wrong with this challenge."

"I don't think so… I think this is an error in production," Leon said. "It's a mistake in the challenge. It's not us."

"Do I have to pick the lock or something?" Sayaka asked.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We're waiting for some mechanics to come and fix our car," Nagito said. "We don't get time credits for the time we spend waiting, so we are seriously suffering from this,"

"Sorry, Nagito," Nekomaru said. "I should've watched the road."

"It's fine," Nagito replied. "It's just my luck. Besides, I'm sure either Makoto and Sayaka or Leon and Ibuki are struggling back there. I haven't seen them since the Roadblock, and they're bound to pass by here if they do make it."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I see the lighthouse," Hajime said. They went down to the marked parking lot as they ran up to Monokuma.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "You are team number THREE."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 3rd Place**

"Alright. We're doing well. Still trying to get that 1st place in, though."

"_We know we're a strong team," Hajime explained. "But so far, the only time we've actually come in first place was when we had a flight advantage in Paris."_

"_We want to make sure to establish ourselves as a strong team and win a leg on nothing but strength and will." Chiaki said._

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru watched as the mechanic came and refitted the tire on their car.

"You should be good to go," the mechanic said.

"Thanks Kazuichi 2.0," Nekomaru said. They got back into their car and drove.

**Leon, Sayaka**

"Leon, can we talk for a second?" Sayaka asked.

"Fine. I'm wasting time here anyways."

They both climbed aboard Sayaka's boat.

"I don't think we're going to be able to do this," Sayaka said.

Leon balled up his fists in frustration. "What's your point?"

Sayaka ran her fingers through her hair. "I was wondering if you would agree to quit the Roadblock with me and take the penalty time."

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, we're not getting anywhere and unless you have the Express Pass, we'll be here all night. If we agree to the penalty, we can just shake hands and race for last place. Since we'll be getting the same penalty, whoever arrives at the Pit Stop first will stay in the race."

"... that's not a bad idea,"

"Also, if the sun sets on us, that'll make this challenge ten times harder. Even if we do figure out what we're doing wrong, it'll probably still take us hours to finish it."

"Fine. Deal."

Leon and Sayaka shook hands. "Go back to your boat. I'll count us off so it's fair." Sayaka said. Leon dove back into the water and swam back to the boat.

"We elect to take the four-hour penalty," both Sayaka and Leon said to their captains consecutively. They each received their clue as the boats began to move back to the harbor.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Nagito and Nekomaru… I see your luck fluctuates a lot. Sometimes your luck puts you ahead, sometimes it sets you behind." Monokuma teased.

"Well… let's see if our luck is good enough to keep us in the race." Nagito said.

"Your luck right now is mediocre because you are team number four."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 4th Place**

"Alright. Not bad. We're not last, at least." Nagito said.

"I know we can do better!" Nekomaru shouted. "Swear! Do it! Swear that we will win the next leg!"

"I swear we will win the next leg!" Nagito shouted.

"I swear we will win the next leg!" Monokuma shouted.

"Shut up! Not you!"

**Leon, Sayaka**

The two boats began coming into the harbor.

"Are they both coming in?" Makoto asked.

"Looks like it," Ibuki replied. "Yeah, they're both on there."

"I guess unless someone else messes up so badly, it's going to be neck and neck between us." Makoto said.

As the boats came back into the dock, they each ran out to their partners and handed over the clues.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to the Nelson Mandela University library," Makoto read. Each of them stood by the side of the road and easily hailed a taxi cab.

"Nelson Mandela University Library," Sayaka said. They stepped inside.

"Sayaka… did something happen out there?" Makoto asked.

"It was brutal," Sayaka replied. "Leon and I agreed to quit it and get a four-hour penalty, so it's a race between us and them."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"It was the only way. If we didn't, we'd be out there all night. I didn't know if there was something we were doing wrong, but none of the keys we were given unlocked any of the boxes."

"_We know that Leon and Ibuki are our friends, they're our allies," Sayaka explained. "But the only way we're going to stay in this competition is to beat them and get them eliminated. It's the only way."_

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Ibuki, I quit the Roadblock so we're going to have a penalty at the end."

"What? You quit?"

"Yeah, but Makoto quit too, so we just need to check in before them and we'll be home free."

"_At this point, it's us against Makoto and Sayaka," Leon said. "Because it was a race for last, our alliance essentially evaporated."_

* * *

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka ran up to the clue box at the university.

"We're not last," Makoto said, looking at the number of clues in the box.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

Makoto and Sayaka dashed into the library and grabbed the vinyl record.

"Let's do this," Makoto said. They put in the record as it played a passage in Zulu.

"IsiZulu siwulimi olukhulunywa kakhulu eNingizimu Afrika, futhi bangaphezulu kwamaphesenti angamashumi amahlanu abantu abakwaziyo ukusikhuluma. Ngemuva kwesiSwahili, kungulimi lwesibili olukhulunywa kunazo zonke olimini lwesiBantu futhi ibhalwe ngezinhlamvu zesiLatin."

"Uhh…"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

Leon and Ibuki ran into the library, right next to Makoto and Sayaka.

"IsiZulu siwulimi olukhulunywa kakhulu eNingizimu Afrika, futhi bangaphezulu kwamaphesenti angamashumi amahlanu abantu abakwaziyo ukusikhuluma. Ngemuva kwesiSwahili, kungulimi lwesibili olukhulunywa kunazo zonke olimini lwesiBantu futhi ibhalwe ngezinhlamvu zesiLatin."

"Fuck," Leon said.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka ran outside and listened closely to all of the students in the courtyard.

"No… it's not you… that's spanish…" Sayaka muttered.

"I can't hear any of them," Makoto said. "It's too goddamn loud."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I think I can memorize that," Ibuki said. "Ibuki has good ears."

"I hope so," Leon replied. "That was a bunch of jibberish."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Let's try this guy!" Sayaka shouted. Makoto grabbed him by the wrist and ran over to the librarian.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 1st Attempt**

"No," the librarian replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"This is insane," Leon said, stepping outside.

"No worries," Ibuki said. "Ibuki can tell."

Leon followed Ibuki through the rows of students. "Her! It's her!" Ibuki shouted, pointing to a woman near the center of the chaos.

Leon grabbed her hand and pulled her to the librarian.

**Leon and Ibuki: 1st Attempt**

"It's good," the librarian said, handing over the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 5th Place**

"Thank you," Leon said. They ripped the clue open.

"Drive to the Seal Point Lighthouse," Ibuki read.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"They just left," Makoto said.

"What? How'd they get past it so fast?"

"I dunno but we have to hustle." Makoto replied. He listened in to a man and thought he heard some familiar words.

"Let's try him!" Makoto shouted. Sayaka shrugged as they led him to the librarian.

**Makoto and Sayaka: 2nd Attempt**

"Congratulations," the librarian said.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"We have to catch up to them," Sayaka said, jumping into the car. "No matter what it takes."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I don't know how far they are from us," Leon said. "Could be a few minutes, could be an hour… we just don't know and need to get there as fast as possible. We've learned the hard way that on a self-drive, it's easy to lose a lead if you get lost."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Come on… Come on…" Sayaka said. "We have to hope. Maybe your lucky talent will help us."

"Please, Race God, please let Leon and Ibuki get a flat tire."

* * *

Monokuma waited at the Pit Stop mat.

Leon and Ibuki ran up to the carpet and jumped on it.

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "You are team number five, and you are still in this race."

**Leon and Ibuki: 5th Place**

Leon fell to his knees. "Damn... this race is stressful."

"Ibuki's energy levels are so looow… Ibuki needs a rest."

"This is, by far, your most difficult leg," Monokuma said.

"Yeah," Leon said. "I'm just kind of upset our alliance is down to just two teams."

* * *

Makoto and Sayaka stepped out of their cab and held hands, running up to the mat just as the sun was dipping below the horizon.

"Makoto and Sayaka," Monokuma said. "You are the last team to arrive."

"We figured," Makoto said. "After wasting that much time at the Roadblock, and Leon and Ibuki passing us, there's no way we're not last."

"Was this leg… did you feel it was difficult?"

"Duh! Of course it was!" Sayaka shouted.

"Do you think you should've survived this leg?" Monokuma asked.

"I don't know about 'should've'," Makoto said. "But we definitely could've done better."

"Do you feel like your luck had a huge impact on this leg?"

"Not really… I didn't feel particularly lucky or unlucky today. Maybe besides that cut earlier."

"Well, it looks like you're wrong because your luck has prevailed." Monokuma said. "This is a Non-Elimination leg and you are team number six."

**Makoto and Sayaka: 6th Place**

"What? Noo!" Makoto shouted, ecstatic. "I don't believe you!"

"We're still in this!" Sayaka exclaimed.

"However, your next leg will not be easy," Monokuma said. "During the next leg, you will face a Speed Bump, a challenge that only you have to complete in order to continue racing."

"Alright," Makoto said. "We can power through it."

"Additionally," Monokuma added. "Because you elected to quit the Roadblock, you will be starting the next leg four hours behind the other teams."

"I understand," Sayaka said. "But I'm sure we can overcome it."

"_Yeah, we're not happy with ending in last place," Makoto said. "But it looks like my talent actually came in handy,"_

"_Sure, we've got a disadvantage, but I'm positive we can power through our obstacles and get back up to the top tomorrow."_

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Shuichi and Kaede

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Hajime and Chiaki

4th: Nagito and Nekomaru

5th: Leon and Ibuki

6th: Makoto and Sayaka

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.29

Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.29

Makoto and Sayaka: 3.71

Hajime and Chiaki: 4.29

Chihiro and Hina: 4.86

Leon and Ibuki: 5.43

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Shuichi 4, Kaede 4

Chihiro 3, Hina 5

Hajime 4, Chiaki 4

Nagito 3, Nekomaru 5

Leon 4, Ibuki 4

Makoto 4, Sayaka 4

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

The final six race through the sands of Dubai.

_*Leon and Ibuki getting a dune buggy stuck in the sand.* "Dammit!"_

Where they will face a second dreaded Double U-Turn.

"_I think this will be our best chance at breaking down that alliance," Hajime said._

"_I think the U-turn will help us eliminate our alliance's competition so we can all go to the finale as a group," Shuichi explained._

And teams will face great heights.

_*Hajime and Chiaki cleaning a window sixty stories up* "Don't look down!" Hajime shouted._

Who will be eliminated next?

_*Makoto and Sayaka building an igloo* "You know, when I woke up this morning, I thought; 'I want to go to Dubai and build an igloo.'" Sayaka said._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment or else I will eat all of your hope bagels.


	15. Leg 8.1

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

The final six raced through Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The first challenge had Kaede squirming in her seat.

"_I'm gonna vomit," Kaede said, hunched over a gazelle carcass._

At the Roadblock, Hina and Kaede quickly solved an aquatic puzzle.

_*Kaede straightening the keyring*_

_*Hina opening a box underwater to get a clue*_

However, the Roadblock caused Sayaka and Leon to fall behind and make a risky agreement.

_Sayaka ran her fingers through her hair. "I was wondering if you would agree to quit the Roadblock with me and take the penalty time."_

In the end, Shuichi and Kaede edged out Chihiro and Hina for a first place finish.

"_You are team number ONE!" Monokuma announced._

And Makoto and Sayaka fell behind at the last challenge at the leg and never recovered.

"_Makoto and Sayaka, you are the last team to arrive."_

But, they were greeted with a welcome surprise.

"_This is a Non-Elimination leg."_

Six teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st to depart, 5:58 AM**

"Where are we going?" Shuichi asked, ripping open the clue. However, the ripping mechanism kind of… malfunctioned and they ended up struggling to rip it open.

"Come on!" Shuichi shouted. Kaede laughed and just watched him. Eventually, he did get it open.

"Finally," Shuichi said, snickering. "That was pathetic."

Kaede leaned over and read the clue. "Fly to Dubai."

**[i] Fly to: Dubai, United Arab Emirates**

_ **Teams must now leave South Africa and fly northeast over 7,000 kilometers to Dubai, a middle eastern city with several of the world's tallest skyscrapers. Once teams touchdown, they must take a cab to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. It is there that teams will receive their next clue.** _

"Warning: Double U-Turn Ahead." Kaede read. "Oh, no."

Shuichi walked to the side of the road. "TAXI!"

As a cab pulled over, Kaede and Shuichi stepped inside. "Airport, please."

"_We're starting today in first again," Shuichi said. "Normally, we would be stoked, but now that there's a U-turn ahead I'm kind of worried we've come off too much as threats."_

"_I mean, we do have the Express Pass, and since there's a U-turn on the line, we're probably going to have to use it today," Kaede explained. "But still… we're kind of worried about our alliance members. We've talked to the other teams, and none of them had seen either Makoto and Sayaka or Leon and Ibuki after the ocean challenge yesterday."_

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd to depart, 6:00 AM**

"Fly to Dubai!" Chihiro read.

"No… I don't like deserts." Hina said. "Why is everywhere we go a hundred degrees?"

"_I'd say we're doing really well," Chihiro explained. "After our bad first, fourth, and fifth legs, I think we're actually become a great team. Sure, we haven't gotten first yet, but we have three second places so far."_

"_We want that to change," Hina said. "We want that win today."_

"Airport," Chihiro said to the driver.

* * *

**Port Elizabeth International Airport**

The first four teams sat in the airport.

"Whoever survived yesterday is really far behind us," Nagito said. "I mean, I haven't seen either of them since the Roadblock yesterday."

"I'm not sure who went home," Kaede said. "But there's nothing we can do about it now, huh."

"Our flight departs soon," Chihiro said. "If they can't get on this flight…"

"They're done for," Hajime replied.

* * *

**Leon and Ibuki: 5th to depart, 12:46 PM**

"Fly to Dubai," Leon read. "We need to step up our game today."

**Makoto and Sayaka: Last to depart, 1:04 PM**

"Fly to Dubai. Oh, crap, U-turn!" Makoto read.

"_We are so glad to be staying in this race for at least another day," Makoto explained. "But when we left the Pit Stop in last, I would say around six to seven hours after the fourth team and maybe around fifteen minutes after Leon and Ibuki, we were getting stressed."_

"All I hope is that we're on the same flight," Sayaka said.

* * *

The first four teams boarded the first flight. "I don't see any signs of either Makoto and Sayaka or Leon and Ibuki on this aircraft," Nagito said. "That's a good sign."

"They're not here." Hajime said. "They're alone."

"Hopefully they can get on here before they shut the doors," Kaede said, sliding her bag on the plane's overhead compartment. "Now, with a U-turn, is when we need an alliance's help more than ever."

* * *

The two teams made a massive dash into the airport.

"Hi, we need to get to Dubai, as quick as possible," Leon said.

"Us too," Makoto said.

The agent looked it up in her computer. "There was a flight that gets in at 9:00 PM, but it looks like it's all full and prepared for departure."

"When's the next flight scheduled to land?" Sayaka asked.

"Not until 6:30 in the morning,"

Makoto put his hands on the back of his head. "That's eight and a half hours."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do at this point," the agent said.

"Ibuki doesn't think that we can make up time with that."

"GOD DAMMIT!" Leon shouted.

* * *

Nagito and Nekomaru watched as the stewardess closed the door and they left the terminal.

"They're not here!" Nagito cheered.

"_Now, we know that we have a team possibly hours behind us," Nagito explained. "But that doesn't mean we're automatically in the clear. We know that things can happen. We can have flight difficulties… they can somehow catch up… we're just not sure. So we're going to race as if there's only four teams left in this race."_

The plane prepped itself on the runway and took off.

* * *

_ **Teams are now en route to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first flight arrives at 9:00 PM via Cairo and contains Hajime and Chiaki, Shuichi and Kaede, Chihiro and Hina, and Nagito and Nekomaru. The second flight is set to arrive at 6:30 AM the next morning via Addis Ababa, and contains Leon and Ibuki, and Makoto and Sayaka.** _

* * *

**Dubai, UAE**

**Flight 1: 9:00 PM**

"Let's go!" Nagito shouted, running out of the airport and to the taxis in front of the arrivals terminal.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We need to get to the Burj Khalifa," Shuichi said. "As fast as possible."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Burj Khalifa. Really fast. We're in a race for a lot of money." Chiaki said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"I think Kazuichi were to die if he were to come here," Nekomaru said. "He was always yapping on and complaining about the heat. Right now, it's in the middle of the night and it's still over one hundred degrees (Farenheit, 40 degrees Celsius)!"

"I told you back in Brazil that I would wear this sweater on an island if I had to," Nagito replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina tugged at her shirt. "Oh, sheesh, I can't believe how hot it is."

"At least it's in the nighttime." Chihiro replied. "I don't think I would be able to function if we were racing in the day."

Hina pulled out an electronic fan.

"Did you have that the entire race?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Wow, that building is tall," Shuichi said, looking upwards at the height."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina craned her neck to look upwards. "Oh, that is a beautiful building. But if I try to look at it anymore I'm probably going to snap my neck."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

They paid their driver as they ran into the hotel lobby. There, there was a board with a race flag on it.

"Return at 6 AM," Chiaki read. "Aw. Booo."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Six AM?" Shuichi asked. "Aw man. I was hoping for a night leg. Oh well… can't be helped I suppose."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hey! It's that way!" Hajime pointed away from the sign. "Over there!"

"Thanks!" Chihiro replied, grabbing Hina's wrist as they ran right past the board while Hajime laughed hysterically.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Come back at six?" Nagito asked. "The other flight is probably going to catch up with us."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Where is it?" Hina asked. "Hajime? Where was it again?"

"Oh, it's that way!" Hajime pointed. "It's outside! Out back!"

Chihiro stopped in the lobby. "Are you messing with us?"

"Yeah… haha. Sorry."

"You're mean!" Hina shouted. "Really, though, where's the clue."

"There is no clue. We have to come back at six." Chiaki said.

"What? Six?" Hina asked. "The other flight is going to catch up."

"Nothing we can do about it, I'm afraid." Nagito said. "I guess we're going to have to sleep here in the lobby or out on the street."

"No need for that!" Monokuma shouted, popping up behind a sofa and causing Kaede to jump and spill a bottle of water.

"Woah!" Shuichi shouted, reeling backwards. "How long were you there!"

"The whole time. Why? Eh… it doesn't matter."

"What did you want to say?" Nagito asked.

"Oh, we have rooms prepped for the night. The bottom of the Burj Khalifa is actually a hotel, you know!"

"Alright! This sounds like a great hotel!" Chihiro said.

* * *

After everyone had gotten settled into their rooms, Nagito and Nekomaru had brought both Chihiro and Hina and Hajime and Chiaki to their room.

"What?" Hajime asked.

"It's about the U-turn." Nagito replied. "Our U-turn strategy for today."

"What about it?" Chihiro asked.

"We don't know who survived yesterday. For all we know it could've been a non-elimination."

"What's your point?" Hina asked.

"There's a high chance they're going to catch up. I'd say that if Makoto and Sayaka survived, we should target them. They're going to be less rested than us, and have a general disadvantage. If we're lucky, they might even have a Speed Bump this leg."

"What do you want us to do about it?" Chiaki asked.

"Well… we need to make sure that we get to the U-turn board first, before Shuichi and Kaede, and before that team. Chihiro and Hina can't U-turn anyone because you already did so in Brazil, right?"

"Yes… that's right…" Hina clarified.

"Well, I'm certain that if Kaede and Shuichi arrive at the board before both slots are used up, they will U-turn one of us to try and save their alliance members. I'd say that the first team to arrive U-turns whoever survived yesterday, and the second person U-turns the first team."

"Nagito… you're really thinking this through!" Nekomaru shouted.

"You're right," Hajime said. "I do think this U-turn is our best shot at tearing down that alliance."

"If Leon and Ibuki were the ones that made it through, do the same thing. But if it was a non elimination and both teams are safe, target Makoto and Sayaka. Leon and Ibuki aren't much threats if you look at their performance so far. No wins… no top two finishes, I'm sure if we just leave them here, they'll eliminate themselves later on."

"Why would the second team U-turn the first team?" Nekomaru asked. "Seems a little counterintuitive."

"Well, U-turns don't affect anyone that already passed the board," Chiaki said. "I see what he's saying. If we U-turn Makoto and Sayaka, and then Nagito and Nekomaru u-turn us after, it won't affect us and it'll take up a slot so the other teams can't U-turn anyone to save themselves."

"I see…" Hajime said. "That's kind of a jerk move… but I see your point."

They all shook hands in agreement.

* * *

**5:55 AM**

"The last team isn't here…" Nekomaru said. "Where are they?!"

They watched as race production pulled out a Speed Bump sign, and slapped Makoto and Sayaka's pictures on it.

"That settles that, I guess…" Chiaki said. "I still wonder what happened."

"I'm just shocked that Leon and Ibuki beat them," Chihiro said. Kaede and Shuichi rolled their eyes as the hotel's receptionist pulled out the clues.

"Thank you," Chiaki said, grabbing the clue. She ripped it open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Detour. Sky or Snow?" Hajime read.

**[i] Sky**

_ **This is the Burj Al-Arab, one of the world's most famous and luxurious hotels. And, like most of the other buildings in Dubai, is over a thousand feet tall. And now, teams will have to face one of the greatest challenges of these skyscrapers. Keeping it clean.** _

_ **In this Detour, teams must gear themselves up in harnesses and window washing gear, and rappel three hundred feet down the side of the hotel to reach this window. Once the window has been cleaned, teams will be pulled back up to the top to receive their next clue.** _

**[i] Snow**

_ **Sitting in the Arabian Peninsula, Dubai is widely regarded as one of the world's hottest tourist destinations. To combat the heat of the arid desert, Ski Dubai allows locals and visitors to travel the slopes in an indoor ski resort.** _

_ **In this Detour, teams must pack together a snow brick and use it to complete this igloo. Once teams have added their snow brick, they must pick up one of these giant ice cubes and haul it outside, through the heat of Dubai, to this shop. If teams can bring it to the shop before the ice completely melts, they will receive their next clue. However, if it melts into nothing but water, teams must return to the ski resort and pick up another one.** _

"I think we should do Sky," Hajime said. "That one looks faster and less can go wrong."

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"We're doing snow," Hina said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Snow," Shuichi said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We're doing Sky," Nagito said.

* * *

**Flight 2: 6:20 AM, 10 Minutes Early**

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Run!" Makoto shouted. He and Sayaka got into the cab. "Burj Khalifa."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Ibuki! Run fast!" Leon shouted.

"Ibuki gets it! It's a race! There's no need to remind Ibuki!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"It's 6 AM and it's already blisteringly hot!" Makoto complained, fanning himself off with his passport. "This is why I like to live in Japan."

"Hopefully we can beat out Leon and Ibuki today." Sayaka replied. "Or maybe there's a team that's still struggling out there. If we're lucky, there might've been some kind of bunch point."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

The teams rode in the cab.

"Hopefully Shuichi and Kaede aren't wise enough to use their Express Pass today, because we do not want them to get to the board first," Chiaki said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think it'll be in our best interest to use our Express Pass today," Shuichi said. "Because we want to get to the board first."

"We're certain that they're going to U-turn Makoto and Sayaka, which would not be good because they're our best friends in this competition," Kaede said. "We're not sure how far behind they are, could be five minutes, could be fifteen, could be an hour, but I'm sure it's not too much given how long of a rest stop we've had. If it goes our way, I think the U-turn will help us eliminate our alliance's competition so we can go to the finale as a group."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Indoor ski resort… that's the last thing I expected from a desert." Chihiro said. "Sounds like a lot of fun, though."

"Yeah," Hina replied. "Building an igloo... that's so fun."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Another heights challenge," Nekomaru said. "This one seems easier, but I'm sure the height factor is turning a lot of people away."

"Yeah…" Nagito replied. "But if you get eliminated because you don't want to face your fears, you deserve to be cut from this race."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran outside and into the Burj Al-Arab.

"This lobby is amazing!" Chiaki said. "Where are the elevators?"

"Over here!" Hajime pointed.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede ran outside and into the shop they were meant to travel to after the ski resort. "Hi, we're going to use our Express Pass," Shuichi said, holding it up. The shop owner grabbed it and exchanged it for their clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Atlantis, the Palm for your next clue," Shuichi read.

**[i] Proceed to: Atlantis, the Palm**

"Alright, let's go," Kaede said. "Let's deal with this U-turn."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

As Hajime and Chiaki rose to the roof, they ran over to the instructors.

"You're going to put on these clothes," the instructor said. "And clip these cleaning equipments to your belt."

"Alright," Chiaki said, grabbing the clothes and slipping them on over her existing clothes.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina ran into the ski resort.

"Oh my god it's so amazing!" Chihiro shouted. "Snow!"

"It's cool, but don't lose track," Hina said. "Let's go see what we have to do."

Chihiro ran past a rack of snow clothes. "Do we have to get dressed in these?"

He looked through them. "Yeah, they have our names on them."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We need to knock this out so we can get to the U-turn board first," Nagito said. "Cleaning a window can't be that hard, right?"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Oh, look how tall it is!" Sayaka shouted. She and Makoto ran inside to see their Speed Bump sign.

"Let's get this over with," Makoto said, grabbing and ripping their Speed Bump clue.

**[SB] Room Service**

_ **For coming in last place in the previous leg, Makoto and Sayaka must now complete a Speed Bump, a challenge that only they have to complete. In this Speed Bump, they must make their way to the kitchen of the Armani Hotel, here in the lower floors of the Burj Khalifa. Looking at this chart of room service orders in the kitchen, Makoto and Sayaka must memorize three rooms and their orders. Using this cart, they will deliver the meals to these rooms. Once teams return to the kitchen, they will be given the okay to continue racing.** _

"Alright, we have to knock this out so we can make up the time later," Makoto said. They got into the elevator and pressed a button.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Alright… here we are…" Leon said, running into the lobby. "There's the Speed Bump,"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 5th Place**

"We're doing Snow," Ibuki said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Is this the Atlantis place?" Shuichi asked. The driver nodded. "Wait here."

Shuichi and Kaede ran in front of the hotel and approached the U-turn board.

"Should we use it?" Kaede asked.

"I'd say yes," Shuichi replied. "If we want Makoto and Sayaka to survive, we have to U-turn someone else."

"_We didn't know how far behind the other teams were," Shuichi explained. "But we figured that they were probably right on our tails. So, we decided to take action."_

"Who?" Kaede asked. "Who should we U-turn?"

"Let's do Nagito and Nekomaru," Shuichi replied, placing Nagito and Nekomaru's pictures on the board. "They're probably our biggest competition, so if they go home, we're not complaining."

**U-Turn x2**

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

**\- Courtesy of Shuichi and Kaede**

**[Empty Space]**

**\- [Empty Space]**

"_We also figured that Nagito and Nekomaru were the ones who were pulling the strings to take down our alliance," Kaede said. "That's not really what we want in this competition. The two other teams are our friends, and after Miu and Kazuichi got eliminated a few legs ago, there's been no one left in our class but us. If Makoto and Sayaka, and Leon and Ibuki go home, it'll be us against the world._"

They grabbed the clue from the box and opened it up.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to the Al Aweer Desert and search for your next clue," Kaede read.

**[i]: Proceed to: Al Aweer Desert**

"God, the desert?" Shuichi asked. "Damn… this leg is unforgiving. We haven't even done anything yet and I'm still exhausted."

**Chihiro and Hina**

After putting on their snow gear, Chihiro and Hina walked over to the demonstration.

"We need to make an igloo now?" Chihiro asked. The demonstration person packed the snow with his hand and used a saw to slice a huge chunk of snow out of the ground.

"Alright… simple enough," Hina said. They dropped to their knees and began packing the snow with their hands.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki got dressed up in window washing gear.

"Alright, what now?" Hajime asked. The instructors clipped the gear to their belts as they were suited up in their harnesses.

"Just pull yourselves downwards," the instructor said. "When you are finished with your window or want to be pulled back upwards for any reason, press this button on your belt and we'll pull you up."

They nodded as they approached the side of the building and stepped off the side.

"Wow… this is higher than I anticipated…" Chiaki said. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."

"It's not as bad as what I had to do in LA." Hajime replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru stepped off the side of the building, just a few minutes after Hajime and Chiaki.

"This is so much more exciting than delivering a block of ice! I have to shiiiittt!"

"I was wondering when that issue would pop back up."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Now in the kitchen, Makoto and Sayaka looked over the board of orders.

"Room 203, plate 1, room 387, plate 2, and room 104 is plate 3. Alright." Makoto repeated. Makoto grabbed the cart and began pushing it out of the kitchen and into the hotel hallway until they reached room 203.

"Hi, we have some room service?" Makoto asked. The door opened as the guest grabbed the plate and shut the door.

"Two more to go…" Sayaka said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"There's a U-turn today," Leon said. "Hopefully it's not us,"

"I don't think so," Ibuki said. "Ibuki thinks we're the underdogs and that the others don't worry about us."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina grabbed the saw and sliced a nice, large chunk of snow out of the floor and picked it up. She walked over to the igloo and placed it in the hole.

"Is that good?" Chihiro asked. The judge gave them a thumbs' up and directed them to the blocks of ice.

"Alright, let's see what we have to work with." Hina said.

Arriving in front of the piles of blocks, they looked through them.

"We should take the biggest one," Hina said. "That'll melt the slowest, right?"

She pointed to one around the size of her.

"But the biggest one is gonna be way too heavy," Chihiro protested. "If it's too heavy, we'll spend more time in the sun because it'll take longer for us to move."

"I don't have a problem with the heavy ones, but if you don't think you can handle it we can do one of the medium ones." Hina asked. "How about this one?"

She picked up one around the size of Chihiro.

"I think I can manage that if you hold the other end," he replied.

"Alright, it's settled!" Hina said, picking up the block of ice. Chihiro grabbed the other end as they began moving it towards the door.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki pulled themselves downwards until they were face to face with the stained window.

"Don't look down," Hajime said.

"I'm not… heights don't faze me." Chiaki replied.

"Man… they stained this good," Hajime said.

"_If I didn't look downwards, it kind of felt like I was dangling a few feet off the ground," Hajime explained. "It wasn't that big of an issue._

"_I really didn't think much of it… I mean we were on a harness, right?" Chiaki said._

Hajime pulled out a wet rag and began wetting the side of the window. He pulled out the squeegee and began trying to scrub it off.

"Wow… what the hell is this?"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled down almost immediately after Hajime and Chiaki began cleaning.

"Come on… Ultimate… Masseuse!" Nekomaru shouted, scrubbing the window with such vigor that the majority the scum immediately loosened.

"Don't break the window!" Hajime scolded.

"Haha…

Nagito began scrubbing it down the normal way.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Right now, it's us against Makoto and Sayaka," Leon said. "They're our friends, but we hope that Speed Bump takes hours."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Room 104…" Sayaka said, knocking on the door. They handed the plate to the guest as they ran back to the hotel's kitchen.

"You can continue racing," the judge said. They nodded and made their way back down to the lobby.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"Detour. Sky or Snow?" Makoto asked.

"Snow. Let's do snow." Sayaka replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Here's the clue box," Kaede said. She pointed to their taxi. "Stay."

"I have to go soon," the driver said.

"Stay!" Shuichi shouted. "If you leave you're not getting paid at the end of the day."

"Fine," he replied. They grabbed their bags and ran up to the clue box on the sand, in front of six dune buggies.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Route Info. Go dune bashing…"

**[i] Go Dune Bashing**

_ **Teams must now ride one of these dune buggies and follow these flags to find their next clue, two miles away. Then, they must drive themselves back to the road. While this task might seem straightforward, in the event that their buggy gets stuck, they'll have to go through the physically taxing process of hand-winching it out.** _

"Once you have picked a buggy, you may not switch. Alright, let's do this." Shuichi said. He and Kaede stepped into the buggy.

"This seems simple enough. Steering, park, reverse, acceleration, and brake."

"What's this?" Kaede asked, pulling out some kind of metal lever.

"I bet that's the winch," Shuichi replied. "We better not get stuck, then."

Shuichi stepped on the pedal as the wheel turned, not moving and spraying sand everywhere.

"Are we stuck already?" Kaede asked. "Are they all stuck? Do they all start out stuck?"

"I'm not sure," Shuichi replied. "I guess we have to winch it now."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina carried their block of ice across the crosswalk.

"We probably should've taken off our snowgear," Chihiro said.

"It's too late now," Hina replied. "We've just got to get it done. We can take it off afterwards."

They kept moving through the street. "This is so much heavier than I ever imagined…" Chihiro complained.

"Just don't think about it. Think about something else instead. Like puppies."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito scraped the window using all of the force he could muster, and finally got the last bit of gunk off the side. He knocked on the window as a person came up and inspected it from the inside, who gave them a thumbs' up.

"It's good!" Nagito said, He pressed the button on his belt as the staff began pulling them up the side.

"They passed us?" Chiaki asked. "Fine. It doesn't matter."

When they reached the top, the instructor handed them the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Atlantis the Palm," Nagito read.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime wiped the window clean as Chiaki did wonders with the squeegee.

"Check?" Hajime asked, knocking on the window. The judge gave them a thumbs' up as they were hoisted back up to the roof.

"That was great," Chiaki said. "I feel great."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"We're going to the U-turn board," Hajime said. "Hopefully Shuichi and Kaede haven't been there yet."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki ran into the ski resort.

"It's a winter wonderland!" Ibuki screamed. All of the kids and people playing stopped in their tracks and stared right at them.

**Chihiro and Hina**

The ice block had melted enough that Hina was just holding it by herself. They ran into the shop and placed it on the counter.

"Can we have our clue?" Hina asked. The judge nodded and handed over the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Can we finally take these snow clothes off?" Hina asked. "My body's turning into a roast."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"How does this work?" Kaede asked.

"You have to use this side to wedge it into the sand," Shuichi said. "Then attach the cable to the buggy and just crank it back and forth until it's free."

Shuichi grabbed the winch and ran a few feet in front of the car to wedge it into the sand. He then stretched out the cable and attached it to the front of the buggy. He began to winch it back and forth.

"Oh, this is hard!" He shouted. "I should've worked out more."

After a few more minutes of winching, Shuichi wiped the sweat off his head. "It's so hot… and I'm exhausted… oh, god…"

Shuichi pulled the winch to the left and fell over.


	16. Leg 8.2

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi dusted himself off and chugged a bottle of water.

"Oh, god…" Shuichi said. "That's hard."

"Just get it done!" Kaede shouted. "We don't want to waste that Express Pass, right?"

"Right," Shuichi replied. He ran back to the winch and pulled it a few more times to free the buggy from the sand.

"Alright!" He shouted. He hopped in as Kaede began to drive them over the dunes.

"YEAH!" Kaede shouted. "This is amazing!"

"_That was an absolutely amazing experience," Kaede said. "It was soo fun. To be able to drive wherever you want without being restricted with a road."_

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Alright… we're looking for the clue box…" Nagito said, running to the front of the hotel. "Oh over there! The U-turn... wait…"

**U-Turn x2**

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

**\- Courtesy of Shuichi and Kaede**

**[Empty Space]**

**\- [Empty Space]**

"Shit," Nekomaru said. "Well… I guess we have to U-turn Makoto and Sayaka now."

"Yeah… No doubt about it." Nagito replied. They placed Makoto and Sayaka's pictures on the board.

**U-Turn x2**

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

**\- Courtesy of Shuichi and Kaede**

**Makoto and Sayaka**

**\- Courtesy of Nagito and Nekomaru**

They ran back to the cab. "Ski Dubai," Nekomaru said. They sighed, disappointed, as they stepped inside.

"I guess they used that Express Pass…" Nekomaru said. "Damn it… Why? Makoto and Sayaka are already extremely far back, and have a speed bump. Why U-turn us if one of them is going home anyway?"

"It has to be some kind of grudge," Nagito replied. "They're probably catching on about us being the puppeteers who are trying to use the other teams to knock down their alliance."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran outside to see the U-turn board.

"Oh my god!" Hajime shouted. "Shuichi and Kaede U-turned Nagito and Nekomaru?"

"Looks like it," Chiaki replied. "Unfortunately, we can't do anything about it. Makoto and Sayaka are already U-turned. Let's just rip the clue."

They grabbed the clue next to it and ripped it open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to the Al Aweer Desert and search for your next clue."

They ran outside to their cab.

"I didn't see that one coming," Hajime said. "I would've thought they would save their Express Pass for tomorrow."

"I don't know either," Chiaki replied. "But all we can do is keep on moving. They're a strong team anyways, I think we'd actually benefit from not having them in this race any longer."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki gripped the block of snow and tried to put them in the open slot in the igloo.

"It's too big," Leon said, placing it back on the ground. "We're going to have to shave some off."

"That's not hard," Ibuki said, scraping some snow off the side using their saw. "Alright… that's a gogo!"

They slid it into the slot as a perfect fit. "Alright, let's pick some ice!"

Leon picked a very big one that was around the size of a coffin. "Do you think we can do this one?"

"Ibuki think's that's alright!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Over there! The entrance!" Makoto shouted, pointing. They ran inside to see Leon and Ibuki leaving, holding a massive block of ice.

"Woah, that's huge!" Makoto said.

"It's a pain in the ass to carry, I'll tell you that…" Leon replied.

They continued running and very quickly equipped

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Where's the next route marker?" Kaede asked.

"Stop. We can't afford to get lost."

The buggy slowed to a stop as Shuichi looked around. "I know we just passed one, but I don't know where the next one is."

They stopped for a few seconds before Kaede pointed. "Over there."

"Good eye, Kaede!" Shuichi shouted. They got back into the buggy as Kaede hit the gas.

And then got stuck again.

"Are you kidding me?" Shuichi asked.

"_I'm pretty sure those buggies were designed to get stuck," Shuichi explained. "Most buggies are designed… not… to do that. I don't know what they did to them… maybe messed with the tires or something, but we were getting stuck so often."_

"Do I have to winch it again?" Shuichi asked.

"I think so…" Kaede replied, nervously biting her lip. "If you're tired, I think I can handle it."

"No, no, I think it's fine," Shuichi replied. "I'll do it."

He grabbed the winch and headed out to the front of the buggy, sighing.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Alright… That seems simple enough." Hajime said. They got into a buggy and instantly sped over the dune.

"The wind feels nice," Chiaki said.

"Who's that? Up there?" Hajime asked, pointing ahead. "Is that Shuichi and Kaede?"

"Oh my god, it is! We've caught up!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi pulled the winch as Hajime and Chiaki stopped next to them.

"Oh, shit," Shuichi said.

"What's going on?" Hajime asked. "Are you okay? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm fine," Shuchi replied. "It's just a huge pain to get unstuck. Were you guys stuck right off the bat? Our buggy didn't move from the start and I had to winch it out of there."

"No… we moved fine…" Chiaki said. Shuichi deadpanned to the camera as he groaned.

Kaede scratched the back of her neck. "Fine… I guess we just have bad luck today. Just go. You don't need to stop for us."

"Alright," Hajime replied, stepping on the gas. But their back wheel just sprayed sand everywhere.

"Oh, come on!" Hajime shouted.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Shit, they're here!" Nagito shouted, running into the ski resort.

"What happened?" Sayaka asked.

"We got U-turned," Nekomaru replied, grabbing the snow gear and tossing a jacket to Nagito.

"Oh," Makoto said. "We have a chance!"

Makoto plunged the saw into the packed snow as they carved out a brick and slammed it on the igloo.

"You know, when I woke up this morning, I thought; 'I want to go to Dubai and make an igloo'" Sayaka said.

"Good," the judge said, pointing to the ice blocks.

"Alright," Sayaka replied.

"Which one should we pick? There are so many different sizes."

"Let's just pick the biggest one," Makoto replied. "It'll take the longest to melt so it's the obvious choice."

Makoto and Sayaka picked up the largest block of ice and began making their way out of the ski resort.

"Oomph… this is heavy…" Sayaka said. "Wait, do we have to wear this snow gear through the entire challenge?"

The judge nodded. "You can take them off once you get to the shop."

"Damn," Makoto replied. "That makes this so much harder."

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

Chihiro and Hina got into their dune buggy as they sped off over the dunes. "Woohoo!" Hina shouted, while Chihiro drove.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon backed into the shop, putting the rapidly shrinking block of ice on the counter.

"Is it good?" Leon asked. The shopkeeper nodded and handed them the clue as Ibuki cheered.

"Yeaaahooo!" Ibuki shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to Atlantis the Palm" Leon read.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime winched, wincing at the physical strength needed for the challenge. Soon, the car was released from the sand.

"Alright, let's go!" Hajime shouted, hopping into the buggy and speeding off, leaving Shuichi and Kaede behind.

"We made up so much time," Hajime said. "I think that the issue is that stopping, or braking, helps dig your tires into the sand."

"We just need to keep driving and not stop for any reason necessary," Chiaki replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Dammit…" Shuichi said. "My hands are blistering… and we just wasted that Express Pass."

"It's alright," Kaede replied. "We're just not that great at physical challenges. Hopefully we can catch up at the Roadblock. I know we can."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro drove right past Shuichi. "Are you okay?" He asked, stopping.

"We're fine," Shuichi replied, finally getting free of the sand. He picked up the winch and plopped it back into the buggy. They drove off, following the route markers.

Chihiro, in response, floored the pedal, but it sprayed everywhere and didn't move.

"Are we stuck?" Chihiro asked. Hina sighed and pulled out the winch from the back. "How does this work?"

"You need to stick the panel into the sand, and then just pull the lever back and forth," Chihiro said. She did so and began winching the buggy out of the sand.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"This is heavy…" Sayaka groaned.

"It's alright… we just need to get there before Nagito and Nekomaru and we'll be fine." Makoto said between gasps. "Why do we have to wear this outfit?"

"I'm gonna get heat stroke in here," Sayaka complained.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito put the snow block on the igloo as the judge gave them a thumbs' up

"Alright, which one should we pick?" Nagito asked. Nekomaru picked up the biggest one and put it on his shoulder.

Nagito looked up at him. "Are you sure that you can carry that all by yourself?"

Nekomaru laughed. "Of course I can. I'M NEKOMARU NIDAIIIII!"

Nekomaru ran outside as Nagito struggled to keep up.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I see a race arrow pointing to some camp," Chiaki said. "But I don't see a box."

Hajime and Chiaki stopped at the camp and ran inside to see a group of Arabian nomads.

"Hi, do you have our clue?" Chiaki asked. One of the nomads brought out a glass bottle full of a white substance and handed it to Chiaki.

"Is this the clue?" Hajime asked. The nomad shooed them away as they walked back to their buggy.

They stared at the bottle. "What is it?" Chiaki asked.

Hajime turned it around in his hand. "It's a bottle of camel milk. Hang on… on the back… there's some kind of squiggling loop and arabian text."

**[i] Proceed to: Dubai Autodrome**

_ **Teams must now realize that the bottle of milk is pointing them to the Dubai Autrodrome, Dubai's first motor sports facility. They will find their next clue here by the entrance.** _

"Maybe our taxi driver will know," Hajime said. They got back into their cab and pressed on the gas, just as the back wheel began to kick up some sand.

"God dammit."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede pulled up to the camp as Hajime and Chiaki were winching their buggy again. They ran inside and grabbed the bottle of milk.

"Alright, let's go!" Shuichi said. They got back into their buggy as they noticed it was stuck.

"Oh, come on!" Kaede shouted. Shuichi sighed and got out the winch again.

Shuichi winced. "I'm so mad at this right now," he said.

"Do you want me to do it this time?" Kaede asked.

"If you want."

Kaede got out of the car and began pulling the lever back and forth. "Oh… this is hard!"

"Told you!" Shuichi replied. "You know what? We'll just winch it together."

Shuichi got out of the buggy and held onto the lever as he and Kaede winched it together. In not too much time, it got unstuck.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto placed the ice on the counter as the shopkeeper handed over the clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in 5th Place**

"Thank you," Makoto said, running outside. "We need to hail a cab. We can't afford to waste any more time than we already have."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"I see Makoto and Sayaka over there, they just hailed a cab," Nagito said. "Hopefully we're real close to the shop because that block of ice is melting fast."

"Hi, do you know where this shop is?" Nekomaru asked. The pedestrian pointed a few stores down as they ran into it and placed down the ice.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in Last Place**

"Let's go," Nagito said. "They have the other challenge to do, but that doesn't take that much time."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

Leon and Ibuki had their buggy stuck in the middle of the desert, as Leon was winching it. Ibuki stepped on the gas as the buggy got set free.

"That's pretty exhausting," Leon said. "I don't want to have to do that more than once."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina pulled up to the camp just as both Hajime and Chiaki, and Shuichi and Kaede drove their cars away.

"Hina, I'm just going to drive in a huge circle. You get out so I don't have to stop and get us stuck," Chihiro said.

"I got it." Hina replied, jumping out of the buggy and running into the camp. She returned, holding a bottle of milk.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

Chihiro slowed down enough for Hina to jump back in without having to stop and risk getting stuck. They drove off, not so far behind Shuichi and Kaede, and Hajime and Chiaki.

"I think we just made up time with that decision," Chihiro said. "We didn't have to winch anything."

"Even for me, that winching was exhausting," Hina said. "I could see how a physically weak team such as Shuichi and Kaede could fall behind so much even after using their Express Pass."

Hina opened up the bottle and began drinking from it. "What is this again?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Chihiro replied.

"It's real sweet."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki drove back to the starting point, where their cabbies were waiting for them.

"Ali!" Hajime shouted, running up to their driver. "Do you know what this is meant to represent?"

He gave their driver the bottle of milk. "There's a logo for the Dubai Autodrome over here."

"Can you take us there?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah…" Ali replied.

They got in as they began talking with their driver.

"What is the Autodrome?" Chiaki asked.

"It's a motor speedway," the driver replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Finally, we're done," Shuichi said. "God, my hands are completely blistered and bloody from that."

"I'll do the next Roadblock then," Kaede replied. "That was the most physically exhausting thing we've done so far."

"All we can do is pray that the Roadblock is a mental challenge."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Is this the hotel up here?" Makoto asked. The driver nodded as they got out and ran into the front entrance.

**U-Turn x2**

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

**\- Courtesy of Shuichi and Kaede**

**Makoto and Sayaka**

**\- Courtesy of Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Are you kidding me?" Makoto asked. "Nagito and Nekomaru U-turned us? Why? We had a speed bump!"

"Dammit…" Sayaka said. "Let's not waste any more time and just clean those windows."

They ran back to their cab as Nagito and Nekomaru got out of theirs.

"Yeah, real nice guys." Sayaka scolded. "U-turning the team with the Speed Bump."

"Sorry not sorry!" Nagito replied.

Nagito and Nekomaru ran up to the board and grabbed the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to the Al Aweer Desert," Nagito read.

"I don't understand why they're so mad," Nekomaru replied. "I mean, we did U-turn them because we wanted them out, but without context, it just looks like we did it for survival."

"They're just butthurt," Nagito replied. "Hopefully they'll go home and it won't be a problem."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina pulled up to the starting point and exited their vehicle.

"We need to go here," Hina said, pointing to the symbol.

"Dubai autodrome?" the driver asked.

"Probably."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"It's here?" Leon asked. "Oh, I see the clue box!"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Go dune bashing," Leon read. "Alright."

They got into a buggy as it sprayed sand everywhere.

Ibuki put a hand up to stop the sand from getting into her face. "Ibuki's not an expert on buggies, but I'm pretty sure that's not meant to happen."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Burj al arab? Do you know where that is?" Sayaka asked

The driver looked around. "Burj Khalifa?"

"No, the Burj Al Arab. I'm not from here and even I know what that is." Makoto said.

"Oh. Dubai Frame?"

"NO!"

"This guy is an idiot," Makoto said. "We need to get out."

"We can't."

"_Our driver was an absolute moron." Makoto said. "He very clearly spoke english because we had no trouble communicating with him before. But now, we tell him we need to get to the Burj Al-Arab, and he has no idea where that is. We try to get out to find a new cab, but instead he just gets on the freeway and begins driving aimlessly so we can't leave."_

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki's cab pulled up to the speedway as they got out and ripped the clue open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock. Who wants to go to the literal Pit Stop?"

**[R] Work in the Pits**

_ **Racecar driving is a very significant sport in the Emirates. But to be successful on the racetrack, you need to be successful in the pits.** _

_ **In this Roadblock, the non-participating team member will drive one lap around the track, then pull up into the literal pit stop. Then, the member who is completing this Roadblock must change this tire within fifty seconds of the car arriving. If they can perform a successful change, the judge will hand teams their next clue. However, if they fail to change the tire within the allotted time, the non-participating member must drive another lap before they can try again.** _

"I'll do it," Hajime said.

"Oh, this seems cool!" Chiaki shouted. "I get to drive a racecar! It's just like Mariokart! Or Forza Horizon!"

"Well you better go fast like Sonic," Hajime replied.

"Shuichi and Kaede are here," Chiaki said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock," Shuichi read. "I'll do it."

"Oh, I have to drive?" Kaede asked. "What if I don't want to die?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon winched the buggy free as he hopped back in.

"That was hard," he said. "I don't want to get stuck again."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki got revved up at the start as she pressed on the gas and sped around the speedway.

"Oh, that's amazing!" Hajime said. "I wish I was the one racing."

"Wooo!" Chiaki shouted.

**Kaede**

Kaede began driving while flooring the pedal around the track.

"Wow…" Shuichi said. "She's got guts for driving that fast."

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"I'll do it," Chihiro said. "You already have two more roadblocks than me. And if we're driving, it doesn't look too hard."

They opened up the clue.

"Oh, you're the one driving," Chihiro said.

"OOh! That's so fun!"

"Meanwhile, I'm doing the dirty work…"

**Hajime**

As Chiaki rolled into the pit stop, Hajime got into preparation.

"That was amazing!" Chiaki said.

"Well, you're not doing it again." Hajime said. As the car rolled to a stop, the timer started. Hajime took out the drill and used it to take out the bolts on the tire. After that, he pulled out the tire, rolled it off to the side, and then rolled in the new tire. He then put the nuts in each of the slots, put it in reverse, and then tightened them onto the tire.

**0:39.69 PASS**

"You have passed," The judge said, handing Hajime the clue.

"Chiaki! I got it!" Hajime shouted. Chiaki got out of the car as Hajime ripped it open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop, the Butterfly House," Chiaki read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Butterfly House**

_ **The Butterfly House in the city of Sharjah provides a rainforest-like atmosphere so that several butterfly species can survive and thrive, even in this hot, arid desert. The Butterfly House will now be the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here may be eliminated.** _

"Let's go!" Hajime said.

"You knocked that out so fast!" Chiaki praised.

**Shuichi**

As the car pulled in, Shuichi got prepared as the timer began counting down. He kneeled down at the tire, and began using the drill on the bolts, but it wasn't working.

"What? How?" He asked. He kept trying, but the bolts just would not budge.

"_I'm a detective, but I'm not good with machines…" Shuichi said. "But that wouldn't excuse me for overlooking a huge, red switch with the words 'REVERSE' on the drill."_

"Dammit! Why isn't it coming out?"

"Time is up." the judge said. Shuichi stepped back as a person inspected the tire to make sure it was drivable, then told Kaede to begin driving.

"You didn't get it?" Kaede asked.

"I'll get it next time, just drive!"

**Chihiro**

Hina sped around the track. "Wooooo!" She shouted. She entered the pits as Chihiro got to work.

Chihiro switched the drill to reverse as he kneeled down and very quickly undid all of the bolts. He pulled out the tire, then rolled over the newer tire. Grabbing the bolts, he switched the drill back to normal and put in and tightened all the bolts back onto the tire.

**0:35.05 PASS**

The judge handed Chihiro the clue.

"You got it?" Shuichi asked.

"Yeah. Good luck!" Chihiro replied. Hina got out of the car and ripped the clue open.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Chihiro read.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Dude, just let us out." Makoto said. The driver pulled over as they grabbed their bags and threw the money at him.

"Idiot wasted our time," Sayaka said. "There's a taxi over there!"

They hailed it as it pulled up next to them.

"Do you know where the Burj Al-Arab is?" Makoto asked.

"Of course. What kind of Dubai taxi driver would I be if I didn't know where that is? Get in."

They got inside.

"That cost us around twenty minutes," Makoto said. "Today's just not our day."

"Hopefully someone else is struggling right now," Sayaka replied.

"If we hadn't been U-turned, we wouldn't have to worry at all about this, and we'd be at the Pit Stop by now." Makoto grumbled.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

Leon looked at the milk bottle. "It says something in Dubaiish over here," he said.

"Wow… you're stupid! It's Dubaiese!" Ibuki rebutted.

"Whatever it is… it looks like some kind of racetrack?"

They got into their buggy as it began spitting up sand again.

"Fuck."

"I'll winch it this time," Ibuki said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Go dune bashing," Nagito read. They got into a buggy and sped off.

"Hopefully there's some issue the other teams are having that'll help us catch up," Nekomaru said. "Or maybe Makoto and Sayaka are struggling at the window cleaning. Though it's been a while, I doubt they're still there."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It would be nice if we got another first place and established ourselves as a stronger team," Hajime said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"It'd be great if we didn't get 2nd place three times in a row." Hina said. "We do want that win."

* * *

Monokuma awaited at the Pit Stop as Hajime and Chiaki came running across the bridge and jumped on the mat.

"Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number ONE!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st Place**

"Yeah!" Hajime shouted. "Wooo!"

"That's great," Chiaki said, hand on her chest.

"I have some more good news," Monokuma said. "For winning this leg of the race, you have won a trip for two to London."

"Wow!" Chiaki said. "That sounds so nice."

"Now, why don't you get some rest? These last few legs will be taxing."

"Alright," Hajime replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Chihiro and Hina, you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"Wow, again?" Hina asked. "We've done eight legs so far and four of them have been second!"

"I want that first…" Chihiro replied.

"Well it looks like you need to step up your game a bit," Monokuma replied. "The last team checked in almost three minutes before you, and your other two 2nd place finishes came down to a few seconds."

"We'll see… I guess we just have to work on running." Chihiro said.

"We're done with second place. Tomorrow, we're going to win." Hina said, determinedly.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki pulled up to the starting line.

"Finally, we're out of hell." Leon said.

"Ibuki thinks that was fun!"

"My hands are all blistery."

"That's no different than what happens to your fingers when you play guitar."

Leon and Ibuki ran up to their cab driver and showed him the bottle. "Do you know where this is?"

"Dubai Autodrome?" the driver asked.

"What is it?" Ibuki asked.

"It's a motor speedway."

They looked at the design on the bottle. "Seems like it. Alright, take us there!"

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka finally pulled up to the hotel.

"That took way too long," Makoto said. "Let's just knock out this Detour and get it over with. Hopefully we can catch up somewhere in the future."

They ran inside and took the elevator to the roof.

**Shuichi: 2nd Attempt**

Shuichi flicked the slider between the reverse and forwards options. "How did I not see that?"

As Kaede's car came wheeling in, Shuichi came down and began taking out the nuts and bolts from the tire. But as he was pulling, the tire got stuck and wouldn't come out.

"Come on!" he shouted. He finally pulled it free as he rolled a fresh tire back and pushed it inside. He put the drill back into forwards mode and screwed the bolts back in. He glanced up at the timer.

**0:48.69**

"Congratulations, here is your clue," The judge said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Kaede read.

"Sorry about messing up the first time. We could've gotten 2nd or beaten Hajime and Chiaki to the mat."

"It's alright, it's not the finale and it's not the win that matters. We'll get them back next time."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

Nagito drank some of the camel milk as Nekomaru was winching.

"Are you good over there?" Nagito asked.

"I'm fine! Just leave it to me!"

He winched them out in no time as he hopped back into the drivers' seat.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

After getting all dressed up in window washing attire, Makoto and Sayaka stepped over the edge of the building.

"Oh… oh god." Sayaka said. "Oh god."

"It's alright, we have a harness," Makoto replied. "This isn't as bad as what I had to do in America."

They pulled themselves down to the window that needed washing as they splashed them with wet rags.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Hi, do you know where this is?" Nagito asked, holding up the bottle.

"Dubai Autodrome," the driver replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd Place**

"You guys used the Express Pass… had a lead on a flight… and still got third place." Monokuma deadpanned.

"I mean… yeah. If we were U-turned or hadn't used it, this could've been our elimination leg." Shuichi replied. "Especially due to that winching. I can still feel it…"

"Oh, suck it up!" Kaede scolded.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Roadblock," Leon read.

"Ibuki wants to do it!" Ibuki shouted, hand in the air.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto and Sayaka scraped most of the scum off of the window and wiped it down with a wet rag.

"This is disgusting. What even is this?" Sayaka asked.

"It doesn't really matter what it is… we have to do it." Makoto replied. He knocked on the window as they gave him a thumbs' up.

"Alright, we can go up!" Makoto said, being carried up by the staff. Once they were both safely on the roof, they were handed their clue.

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"We're going to the desert… that's not a good sign."

**Ibuki**

"This is awesome!' Leon shouted, driving at top speed around the track. He stopped at the Pit Stop as Ibuki began with the replacement. She very quickly used the drill to take out all of the bolts, but began to struggle to take out the tire.

"Hmmph…" she groaned. "How? How does Ibuki do this?"

"TIME UP." the timer shouted.

"Dammit!" Leon shouted. "Well… at least I get to drive again."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Roadblock," Nagito read. "I'll do it."

They entered the speedway to see Leon racing around the track again.

**Ibuki: 2nd Attempt**

Leon pulled back into the Pit stop as Ibuki began the procedure again. By the time she screwed the bolts back into the tire, she glanced up at the clock.

**0:49:92 PASS**

"Yahoo!" Ibuki shouted. The judge handed Ibuki the clue as they opened it.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop!" Leon read. "Come on, Ibuki! Let's go!"

They ran past Nagito and Nekomaru

"It's really easy, guys! You'll get it!" Leon shouted.

"Thanks!" Nekomaru replied.

**Makoto and Sayaka**

"Route Info. Go dune bashing" Makoto read. He and Sayaka hopped into the dune buggy and began speeding off.

"This is amazing!" Sayaka said. "I'm going to write a song about this!"

**Leon and Ibuki: 4th Place**

Leon and Ibuki stood with Monokuma at the Pit Stop mat.

"Did you ever think that you would make it this far?" Monokuma asked.

"Of course! I have belief in myself!" Ibuki shouted.

"We know we're a strong team!" Leon shouted. "We've just been having a bad day. Every day."

**Makoto and Sayaka**

Makoto showed the driver the milk bottle.

"I know where to go," the driver said.

"Alright thank you," Makoto replied.

**Nagito: 1st Attempt**

"YEEEAAAAAHHHHH!" Nekomaru shouted, pulling into the pit. "That was awesome! Can I do it again?"

"No," Nagito replied. He kneeled down, and unscrewed all of the nuts and bolts. He pulled out the tire with ease, and rolled in the new one, and then screwed the nuts and bolts back in.

**0:39.91 PASS**

"Here is your next clue," the judge said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 5th Place**

"Make your way to the next Pit Stop," Nekomaru read. They ran off and jumped into their taxi.

* * *

"Nagito and Nekomaru," Monokuma said. "Tough day?"

"Yeah…" Nekomaru said. "U-turns are brutal."

"Well… I am glad to tell you that you are team number five."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: 5th Place**

"Oh, thank god," Nekomaru said.

"Your race isn't over yet. And you better prepare, because these next few legs will be difficult."

"We get it," Nagito said. "We'll try our hardest."

* * *

**Makoto and Sayaka: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Makoto read. "I'll do it."

They ran inside, ready to see their next challenge, but instead they saw Monokuma walk up from behind a stack of tires.

"Oh, no," Sayaka said.

"Makoto and Sayaka," Monokuma said. "The last team checked in almost an hour ago."

They nodded in disappointment.

"And you know what this means. I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Makoto and Sayaka: Eliminated**

"The U-turn really killed you, huh?" Monokuma asked.

"Yeah," Makoto replied, looking down and sniffling.

"Hold your head up high. You went to eight different countries… you made it past seven legs… this is still the adventure of a lifetime."

"You're right," Makoto said.

"Who do you think will take home the hundred million?" Monokuma asked.

"Shuichi and Kaede, hands down," Sayaka said.

"They're undeniably the strongest team left in this race," Makoto replied. "Sorry. I really wanted to do this. I really wanted to mess around with the racecars. This looks sick."

"I see…" Monokuma said. "Well then, we're already here at this racetrack. Why don't we give you a pity lap?"

"Huh? You're going to let us drive?"

"Just one loop each, okay?" Monokuma said. Makoto excitedly got suited up and jumped into the car as the instructors gave him the rundown, and Sayaka sighed and smiled.

"_Sure, we might not have been able to get to the finals… or be able to continue to race with our friends, but at the end, no regrets." Makoto said._

"_We've deepened our bond together," Sayaka said. "And I'm not even sure if we would be able to get this far if we had chosen anyone else as our partners."_

"_We'll be waiting for you at the finish line."_

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Hajime and Chiaki

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th: Leon and Ibuki

5th: Nagito and Nekomaru

_ **Eliminated: Makoto and Sayaka** _

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.38

Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.50

Hajime and Chiaki: 3.88

_ **Makoto and Sayaka: 4.00** _

Chihiro and Hina: 4.50

Leon and Ibuki: 5.25

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Hajime 5, Chiaki 4

Chihiro 4, Hina 5

Shuichi 4, Kaede 5

Leon 5, Ibuki 4

Nagito 4, Nekomaru 5

_ **Makoto 5, Sayaka 4** _

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Teams enter the gauntlet in Phuket, Thailand.

_*Chihiro, Shuichi, and Nagito chomping down on Thai chilis*_

"_I'm going to die." Shuichi said, desperately chugging down some water._

As an art challenge causes Leon to lash out.

_*Leon and Ibuki accessorizing an elephant*_

"_NOO! STOP MOVING!"_

"_Leon, you're scaring it!"_

"_SHUT UP!"_

And one team makes a game-changing mistake.

"_I can't believe you did that, dude."_

Five teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**That's a wrap on Leg 8! Five teams remain in the race, so now's a better time than any to make your Final 3 predictions, and your winner predictions! (Keep in mind that I have pre-determined it already so don't worry about affecting the outcome). By the way, I will continue doing this two-parts-per-leg format for this season until the finale, which will be one part, but would you prefer it if for next season I would just do one chapter per leg? It's easier for me to split it up because it's a lot easier to handle and manage, and I get content out quicker (plus it makes me feel like it gives me more traffic), but I feel like most of you don't care for the first half of the legs since the majority of reviews are either on Chapter 1 or the even-numbered chapters. So just let me know, and I'll be happy to do a change or change nothing for Season 2.**


	17. Leg 9.1

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Six teams raced from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to Dubai in the Arabian Peninsula.

The alliance drove two teams to U-turn two other teams.

"_Let's U-turn Nagito and Nekomaru," Shuichi said._

_"Shit," Nekomaru said, approaching the board. "Well… I guess we have to U-turn Makoto and Sayaka now."_

In Dubai, teams got revved up.

"_Wooo!" Ibuki shouted, driving a racecar._

In the end, Hajime and Chiaki came up on top.

"_Hajime and Chiaki, you are team number ONE!"_

But the U-Turn and Speed Bump combination was too much for Makoto and Sayaka to make up for, leading to a field elimination.

_*Monokuma arrives behind a pile of tires*_

"_Makoto and Sayaka, you have been eliminated from the race."_

Five teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

_ **This is the Butterfly House, a butterfly conservatory in Dubai's neighboring city of Sharjah. It will now serve as the starting point for the ninth leg in a race around the world.** _

_ **Hajime and Chiaki won the previous leg and will depart at 4:53 AM.** _

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st to depart, 4:53 AM**

"Where are we going?" Hajime asked, opening the clue.

"Fly to Phuket, Thailand," Chiaki read.

**[i] Fly to: Phuket, Thailand**

_ **Teams must now leave the sandy metropolis of Dubai and fly almost 5,000 Kilometers to Thailand's largest island, Phuket. Once teams arrive in Phuket, they must make their way to the Phuket Zoo for their next clue.** _

"Alright, let's go!" Hajime said. He and Chiaki got into a cab as they sped towards the airport.

"_We've finally got a second first place in this competition, and it makes me feel like we're a real strong team," Chiaki said. "Not that we aren't a strong team. But we still have serious competition."_

"_All of the other teams are strong in their own ways," Hajime said. "Kaede and Shuichi are both really smart and good at thinking outside the box and stuff like that. Nagito and Nekomaru kind of seems like an odd team, but they've won a leg and have the second best average in this race. Leon and Ibuki are definitely the underdogs in this competition… I don't even think they've got a top three finish since Leg 1. We're not too worried about them… but you never know. We do have our eyes set on Chihiro and Hina. At the start, they kind of looked like a flimsy team who almost got eliminated on several occasions, but recently they've stepped up their game and gotten three second places in a row and it doesn't look like that streak is going to get any worse."_

"_But if we had to choose, the teams we want gone are Shuichi and Kaede, and Nagito and Nekomaru."_

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd to depart, 5:02 AM**

"Fly to Phuket, Thailand," Chihiro read. "That's beautiful! I've always wanted to go to Thailand!"

"_We are starting this leg in second place, yet again," Hina said. "Sure, we're bummed out on winning potential prizes, but that's not what matters in the end. We just need to persevere in this race and make it to the end, and then put all of our soul and energy into that final leg back home."_

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd to depart, 5:24 AM**

"Looks like we have a predetermined flight today," Shuichi said. "That's fine. Five teams left, they have to bunch everyone together to make it a real competition."

"_We're kind of bummed about losing our alliance members Makoto and Sayaka yesterday," Shuichi said. "But that's not important. All we can do is push on."_

"_Out of the three teams not in our alliance, I think we want to bring Chihiro and Hina into the finals." Kaede said. "They haven't had a first place yet, and we've finished in front of them on most occasions. I'm certain we can beat them. As for Leon and Ibuki… we've finished before them on EVERY leg so far. We're not worried. But as we have learned from this race, anything can happen."_

* * *

**Dubai International Airport**

The teams sat in a square at the airport terminal.

"It's going to be really hot and sticky there," Ibuki says. "This course is super relentless! It makes me want to scream!"

"Don't, we'll get banned from the airport!" Shuichi said.

"Aww…"

"But yeah, what's with the high temperatures?" Leon asked. "Montreal was hot, Rio was hot, Morocco was hot, Africa was hot, Dubai was hot, and now Thailand?"

Chihiro read the clue. "It looks like we'll catch a break today," he said.

Nekomaru leant over. "What do you mean?"

"Our tickets say we'll arrive at 5:00 PM. That sounds like we'll have just a few hours before it turns into a night leg."

"Alright! I'm sick of these hot temperatures! That'll be a nice change of pace." Hina said.

"Knowing the race, they're probably going to make this the most physical leg of the season." Hajime said. "Being at night doesn't mean that we won't get tired or exhausted."

While conversing, the teams scanned each other up.

"_We're not too concerned with the alliance at this point," Hajime explained. "It's an alliance between a strong team and a weak team. Now that it's no longer a three-team alliance, I'm not worried."_

"_While looking around the teams, we realized that we all had one enemy that we wanted to take out today." Shuichi said. "That's Nagito and Nekomaru."_

"_Sure, we had that pact with them to try and tear down the alliance, but that practically happened." Hina said. "It wasn't an alliance, and it wasn't a friendship. Nagito and Nekomaru are serious threats, and as it looks like Shuichi and Kaede are probably going to target them, why not join in?"_

"_I think the alliance will fall apart on its own," Nagito said. "I mean, there are five teams left. Even garbage like me knows you'd be a complete fool if you would work together with another team. It's just too risky."_

"_We do want to get Leon and Ibuki into the final three," Kaede said. "We're going to help them as much as we can this leg, but we won't hesitate to save ourselves if we have to."_

The teams boarded the plane as it left Dubai.

* * *

_ **Teams are now en route to Phuket, Thailand via Ho Chi Minh City.** _

* * *

**Phuket International Airport: 5:00 PM**

The five teams raced through the airport to try and get a taxi cab first. Each of them got into an awaiting taxi.

"Phuket Zoo!" Shuichi said. "Very fast! We're in a race!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Oh, god, yup… it's hot." Hina said, fanning herself with the electric fan.

"D-do you mind if you fan it over here?" Chihiro asked. Hina tilted it over.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Ibuki is stoked that we get to play with the aminals!"

"Not to get your hopes up, but I'm not sure if we're going to be playing with 'aminals'. We're probably going to go there, pick up a Detour clue, and leave."

"Aww… you persimmon."

"Do you mean pessimist?"

"That's my point! Ibuki thinks you're being mega boring and annoying right now!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We're stoked," Shuichi said. "Leg 9. We've made it through nine legs, we have a 60% chance to get to the final leg, and a 20% chance to win the hundred million. Those are good chances."

"That's still a 40% chance to be eliminated," Kaede replied. "We just need to push through and do our absolute best."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Hopefully our luck will prevail!" Nagito said. "I have full faith in my luck!"

"Heh… Nagito… you need more than luck to survive this race."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"There's the zoo!" Kaede pointed. They got out of their cab and ran into the zoo.

"Which exhibit is the clue box at?" Shuichi asked.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Ooh! Look at the tigers!" Chihiro pointed.

"Oh, they're so cute!" Hina said. "Uhh… we should be looking for the clue."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Over there! By the elephants!" Nagito pointed. They ran up and ripped the clue.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Give these elephants a new wardrobe," Nekomaru read.

**[i] Dress an Elephant**

_ **Elephants are an integral part of Thailand's culture. Now, teams must now adorn these elephants with a rug, headdress, and anklet, used in royal proceedings. Once these elephants have been dressed up to the judge's specification, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"Alright, let's do it." Nagito said. "I have a good feeling about today!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina walked around the zoo as Hina lifted up a trash can lid and peeked inside.

"Where is it?" Chihiro asked. They walked right by the clue box.

"Oh! It's right here!" Hina pointed. "We're blind."

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"We get to play with the elephants?" Hina asked. "That's so fun!"

"Look at them!" Chihiro pointed. One of the elephants stuffed an apple into its mouth.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"It's right up here!" Hajime said, ripping open the clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede ran around the elephant pen, then saw Hajime and Chiaki getting into it.

"Where's the clue box?" Shuichi asked.

"It's on the other side of the pen!" Chiaki shouted. They ran around as Nagito and Nekomaru watched.

"What?" Nagito asked. "They're helping them?"

"_In the middle of the elephant pen, Chiaki just shouts where the clue box is to Shuichi and Kaede. Just a few days ago, we were talking about how much we wanted them gone, about how we wanted to U-turn them. Now they're helping them?" Nagito asked._

"I don't understand their logic," Nekomaru said. "Whatever. Let's go."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"Yay! We get to play with the elephants!" Kaede cheered excitedly.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 5th Place**

"I told you, we're playing with the animals!" Ibuki said.

"Shut up."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Everyone got here real quick," Nagito said. "We have to get some kind of lead here if we want to win today."

"_There was no model, so we had to kind of assume how you were meant to orient them," Nagito said. "It wasn't too difficult, though."_

Nagito grabbed the anklets. "Let's do these first," he said. He tossed two to Nekomaru as they kneeled down around the elephant's legs.

"DON'T SQUASH ME," Nekomaru commanded. The elephant tooted its trunk in response. Nekomaru tried to wrap the anklet around the leg, but the elephant kept moving it out of the way.

"Stop moving your foot!" Nekomaru shouted.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Map!" Hina commanded, as the elephant laid down on the ground.

"_They gave us a few Thai commands," Hina said. "To make it easier to get these clothes on these elephants. And it was such a great experience!"_

"This is amazing!" Chihiro said, grabbing the elephant rug and laying it over the back of the elephant. "They're so cute!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Kaede grabbed the anklets and walked over to Shuichi, then stopped.

"I think I stepped in poop…" She said.

"We can wipe it off after," Shuichi said.

"It's still disturbing," she replied, handing the anklets to Shuichi.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon tried to tie the straps around the elephant's legs to secure the rug to the elephant, but it kept hiking up its legs and slamming it over his hands while he was trying to work.

"Oh my god, stop." Leon said.

Meanwhile, Ibuki was putting on the anklets with little to no issue.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime put the headdress on the elephant's head as Chiaki struggled to pull the elephant rug over the back.

"A little help here?" Chiaki asked. Hajime ran over and gripped the other end, to pull it over the back and tie down the rug to the legs.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"No! S-Stop moving!" Leon shouted, frustrated at the elephant.

"Leon, I think you're scaring it."

"Shut up! I'm trying my best!"

He got both of his hands around the leg to try to tie the rug to the legs, but it continued pressing its legs around its body.

"God, WHY IS OUR ELEPHANT SO FUCKING STUBBORN?"

"_We had probably the most reluctant elephant out there," Leon said. "It absolutely refused to do what we were trying to get it to do."_

"_I think it just sensed Leon's neggo attitude and wanted us to lose," Ibuki replied, giggling._

The elephant put its foot down as Leon sighed in relief. Then it began running to the other side of the enclosure.

"Whaddefuk?"

"After it!" Ibuki shouted.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nekomaru had finally gotten the anklets around the feet.

"Map," Nagito commanded, the elephant lying down on the floor. He and Nekomaru grabbed the rug and pulled it over the elephant.

"Look," Nagito repeated, elephant standing up and wrapping the rug around it.

"Alright, just tie them down around the upper leg." Nagito said. Nekomaru had done the left side, with Nagito on the right side, and soon all four legs were done. Nekomaru placed the headdress on the elephant's head as they asked for a check.

"It's good," the judge said, handing over a clue. They ripped it open."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Old Town Phuket and search for your next clue at the Phuket Sun Restaurant."

**[i] Proceed to: Phuket Sun Restaurant**

"Let's go," Nagito said. They ran out of the enclosure and grabbed their bags.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime clipped the anklets around the legs.

"We're done!" Chiaki said. The judge handed over their clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"We can catch up to Nagito and Nekomaru," Hajime said. "We just can. We have to."

"It's not a good sign when the one team you want to get out is in first place," Chiaki replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We need a taxi… we had to let ours go," Nagito said.

"_We started off the race with holding our taxis for more or less the entire day," Nekomaru said. "But we eventually realized that the money that they were giving us at the start of each leg was getting smaller, and we need to save up for the finale, so we figured the best course of action was to just let our cabs go at the challenges. And it wasn't just either; I'm certain every team let their taxi go."_

"Taxi!" Nagito shouted. One immediately approached them. "Hah… just my luck," Nagito said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki held their hands up, trying to hail a cab, but none arrived.

"Come on!" Hajime shouted.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro got on Hina's shoulders as he clipped the headdress to the elephant's head.

"Can we get a check please?" Hina asked. The judge gave a thumbs' up and handed over the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

Chihiro kissed the elephant on the bridge of its trunk as they waved and ran away from the enclosure.

"That was amazing!" Chihiro shouted.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito looked behind them as he noted the lack of taxis trailing them.

"We heard that Hajime and Chiaki left almost right after us," Nagito said. "But I don't see them anywhere… Maybe they're not as lucky with getting a cab."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"NO, GET BACK OVER HERE!" Leon shouted.

"Come on, Ellie! Work with us!" Ibuki encouraged. The elephant continued running around the pen and away from them.

"I hope you go extinct."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Finally, a cab!" Hajime said, waving. The cab pulled over.

"Do you know the Phuket Sun restaurant in Old Phuket Town?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Get inside."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"TAXI!" Hina shouted. "There's one up there!"

"Nope, that's H&C." Chihiro replied. "I guess we just have to sit to the edge and wait for a cab to arrive."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 4th Place**

"Thank you," Shuichi said, running out of the elephant enclosure. Kaede took a quick detour to wipe her shoe in the grass.

"I'm not getting that out of my head…" Kaede said.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Look at these buildings! It looks like Europe!" Nekomaru said.

"Is that important for this race? Does that have significance? It probably does," Nagito said. Their cab pulled up to the restaurant as they exited and ran to their clue box.

"Roadblock," Nekomaru read. "Who's ready to spice up this race?"

"I'll do it," Nagito replied.

**[R] Spice it Up**

_ **Thailand is famous for creating spicy food, with help from peppers like these, known around the world as Thai chilis. And now, one team member will learn how hot these can be. In this Roadblock, one team member must answer three trivia questions about the culture of Thailand. After each question, teams will be presented with a plate of Thai food that will either be mild or very spicy depending on whether or not they got the question right. After all three questions have been answered and teams have eaten each plate of food, they will be presented with a Prik Kaleang pepper, which they must eat to receive their next clue.** _

Nagito entered the restaurant and sat down as a waiter walked up to him.

"Are you ready?" She asked. Nagito nodded.

**Nagito**

"What does the word Phuket mean?" She asked. "Is it: Island Pearl, Mountain Jewel, or Forest Dew?"

"Uhh…" Nagito trailed. "I don't know… I'll just leave it to luck. Mountain Jewel."

The waitress went into the back and brought out a plate of Pad Thai. Nagito picked up the fork and shoveled some of the noodles into his mouth.

"I think I'm home free," Nagito said. "This is good food."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Finally, a taxi!" Chihiro said, running up to the street and putting a hand in the air. The cab pulled up just as Shuichi and Kaede left the zoo.

"Wait!" Kaede shouted. "Do you mind if we share the cab? It's a big one and it can definitely hold all of us."

"I don't see why not," Chihiro replied. "Get in."

**Leon and Ibuki**

The elephant had finally calmed down as they managed to secure the rug with strings around the legs.

"Finally," Leon said. "I hate animals."

"Ibuki thinks you're an animal."

"Shut up. Let's just get the anklets down," Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"You got this," Chiaki said.

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked. "I'll be maxed out on Roadblocks and you won't have a choice but to do the next two."

"It looks like it's an eating challenge, and I don't have a strong stomach," Chiaki replied. "Besides, I'm sure I'll be fine for the next two Roadblocks."

"Alright, fine, I'll do it," Hajime replied.

**Nagito**

Nagito looked at Hajime entering the restaurant and put his fork down on his empty plate.

"Bring out the next one!" he said. The waitress took his empty plate and began asking him the second question, quiet enough that Hajime didn't hear.

"Which river divides Thailand and Laos?" She asked. "The Mekong River, the Chao Phraya river, or the Tha Chin river?"

"Mekong river," Nagito replied.

"_At the Roadblock, I had so much of my faith in my talent, that I just decided to randomly guess the ones I didn't know," Nagito said. "That seemed to work out in my favor."_

The waitress came out with a plate of curry. Nagito ate it with little thought as it wasn't spicy.

**Hajime**

"What does Phuket mean?" the waitress asked. Hajime stared right ahead as she listed off the answers.

"Can I go check with someone out on the street?" Hajime asked. The waitress smiled and shook her head.

"Umm… okay… the first one. Island Pearl."

The waitress brought Hajime a plate of pad thai. He nervously took the fork and put the food into his mouth, hand shaking.

"That's actually pretty good…" he said. "I think I'm fi-"

He paused as the spice began to kick in. "Dammit."

He bent over and pounded the table.

"_That's the thing about spice," Hajime said. "It gets you. Like, you sit there for a few seconds, and everything seems fine, but it just spurts into your mouth li- let me rephrase that. It rushes into your mouth at supersonic speed and makes you want to move to the Arctic Circle."_

"God… whyyy?"

**Nagito**

Nagito shoveled the curry into his mouth as fast as he possibly could. "Do I have to eat the rice?" he asked. "I'm getting full."

"No, just the curry's fine," the judge said. Nagito put his spoon down as the plate of curry was taken away from him.

"You're killing it, Nagito!" Nekomaru shouted. As he was watching, Nekomaru sat down on a chair outside and took the chance to get their wallet out of the fanny pack and check how much money they had right now. However, he didn't notice something else falling out and bouncing under the chair and behind everyone's bags.

"Thirty thousand yen… and sixty Euros... not bad…" he said. "Chiaki, how much money do you have?"

Chiaki also looked inside her wallet. "Uhh around twenty-five thousand… and some other money from other countries. I don't know the exchange rate, but I've got quite a few Euros, American dollars, Canadian dollars, and the South Africa money. I don't know exactly, but we do have to keep an eye on our cash. The last thing we want is to run out and not be able to pay a taxi, y'know?"

They laughed together.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon put the headdress on the elephant's head.

"Can we get a check?" Leon asked. The judge walked up and inspected the elephant.

"I'm sorry, it's not good enough," the judge replied. Leon balled his hands in anger as Ibuki stared, stunned.

"_We get our elephant checked, and the judge says no!" Leon said. "We look at our elephant, and glance at the other elephants that the other teams have already finished up, and we can't see any significant difference."_

"What the fu-"

**Hajime**

Hajime panted as he downed a glass of water, and called the waitress for more.

"Don't even bother pouring it. Bring me the whole pitcher." he said. The waitress nodded and gave Hajime an entire pitcher of ice water, which he drank from.

"I'm dying over here," he said.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Roadblock," Kaede and Chihiro read.

"I'll do it," Shuichi said.

"Me." Chihiro said. "It's all me."

**Nagito**

"Last question," the waitress said. "Which of the following countries does not border Thailand? Burma, Malaysia, or Vietnam?"

"Vietnam," Nagito replied. They came out with a dish of fried rice as Nagito began eating.

"I really am lucky," he said. He wolfed it down in next to no time as the waitress came out with one pepper.

"Oh, no." he said as the waitress giggled. He picked it up by the stem and popped it into his mouth. "Wow… okay…" he said, chugging his water and coughing. The waitress handed over the clue as he ran over to Nekomaru.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"You wanna read it?" Nekomaru asked. Nagito shook his head, still red and heavily breathing from that pepper, and just reached into their backpacks to pull out a water bottle.

Nekomaru opened up the clue. "Detour. Chair or Flair?"

_ **Teams will now have a chance to experience a way of Southeast Asian transportation, or immerse themselves in Phuket's nightlife. It will be their choice: Chair, or Flair.** _

**[D] Chair**

_ **Back in leg 4, teams had an option to drive a Parisian bike-towed rickshaw through the streets of Paris. Teams will now have an option to do something similar. This time, however, there's a major difference. There's no bike.** _

_ **In Chair, one team member must pull this manual rickshaw, with their partner sitting in it, one mile down this marked course. At the one and a half mile marker (2.4 kilometers), teams must switch who's pulling it and who's riding inside, and pull it half a mile (0.8 kilometers) to the marked destination. Once teams have reached the marked destination, they will receive their next clue.** _

**[D] Flair**

_ **The sun is setting over Phuket. And as such, Patong Beach's Bangla Road has closed its streets to traffic and has begun to light up with bars and music.** _

_ **In Flair, teams must become bartenders and entertain customers by performing a juggling-like maneuver using the drinks and cocktail shakers, a process known as flair bartending. Once they have successfully performed the maneuver perfectly and made a cocktail, a satisfied customer will hand teams their next clue.** _

"What do you think?" Nekomaru asked.

"Oh… uhh…" Nagito replied between breaths and sips of water. "Ch-Chair… oh my god this sucks"

"Are you sure you can carry my weight?" Nekomaru asked.

"I-If I'm just pulling you, I… oh my god…. I can probably do it for *huff* the shorter portion"

Nekomaru grabbed Nagito's hand and pulled him out onto the sidewalk, where they immediately hailed a cab.

"I love your luck," Nekomaru said. "This is definitely our luckiest leg so far. I've had to shit for a while now, but I've been holding it in so we can stay on this groove and come in first this leg!"

"We were at a restaurant for twenty minutes while you were sitting around doing nothing," Nagito said. "Why didn't you just use the bathroom then?"

"I didn't think about that…"

**Hajime**

Hajime put the water pitcher to his mouth and chugged as fast as he could, apathetic about the amount of water that was spilling onto his shirt and lap. He mustered up the strength to eat the last bit and push the empty plate away from him.

"_The spice made it more difficult and harder to eat, which slowed us down." Hajime said. "Somehow, Nagito got all of the questions right on his first try, and he didn't have to eat any of the spicy dishes, which is absolute bullcrap, but there's nothing I can do about it now."_

Hajime gulped down the rest of the water in the pitcher and laid it out as the waitress came back.

"_I was just watching him, and he completely inhaled around a gallon of water," Chiaki said. "That probably wasn't that healthy."_

"Before you start with the question," Hajime said. "Please, more ice water…"

The waitress gave Hajime another pitcher of water as she came back with the next question.

"Which river is the border between Thailand and Laos? The Mekong River, the Chao Phraya river, or the Tha Chin river?"

"Tha Chin, I guess?" Hajime asked. They came out with a pot of curry and rice.

"I've made a terrible mistake," he said, spooning in the curry and rice. "Goddamn."

**Shuichi, Chihiro**

"Do you want to work together on this?" Chihiro asked.

"I think it will be in both of our best interests if we just kept to ourselves from now on," Shuichi replied. "Nagito and Nekomaru are around twenty minutes in front of us, and we don't know how far behind Leon and Ibuki are. I think working together at this point just puts us at risk."

"You have a point," Chihiro replied, looking down. "I see."

"Where are Leon and Ibuki anyways?"

"Probably still at the elephants. I hope they're enjoying themselves, at least." Chihiro said, smiling at the thought of staying longer with the elephants.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki looked at their elephant, then looked at the other elephants in the enclosure.

"What? There's nothing wrong!" Leon shouted, on the verge of a mental breakdown. Ibuki looked at the other end and gave it a scan.

"Ibuki thinks it kind looks strange… like it's tight at the back and loose at the front."

Leon looked and noticed that it kind of bunched up at the front and seemed abnormally tight around the back.

"Is it backwards?" Leon asked in frustration. "How were we supposed to know that?"

"I deduced that because the legs were shorter in the back, the strings on the back would naturally be longer than the strings on the front." Ibuki said, fingers on her temple. "Oh, Ibuki said 'Deduced'! I sound like a genius!"

"You ARE a genius!" Leon shouted. "That's it. If it's reversed then it would be tighter around the back and loose at the front. That has to be it. Help me untie the strings."

Leon reached to the legs to untie the strings, but it restarted hiking its legs and trapping his hands.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he shouted in frustration. He resisted the urge to punch the elephant. "We're back to this shit?"

**Shuichi, Chihiro**

"Yeah, that challenge was a lot of fun." Shuichi said. The waitress came out and told them to spread out around the table so they wouldn't hear each other's answers. She visited Shuichi first.

"What does the word Phuket mean?" She asked. "Is it: Island Pearl, Mountain Jewel, or Forest Dew?"

"Mountain Jewel?" Shuichi asked. She brought out a plate of pad thai as she moved on to Chihiro.

"What does Phuket mean? Island Pearl, Mountain Jewel, or Forest Dew?"

"Mountain Jewel," Chihiro replied.

"_During our time in the Dubai Airport, we used the internet to get some info on Phuket," Chihiro said. "And it seemed that was a good call. The first question was 'What does the word Phuket mean,' and that was one of the things I looked up."_

The waiter also brought out Chihiro's plate as he and Shuichi tried it, with Kaede and Hina watching.

"It it bad?" Kaede asked.

"No, it's actually real tasty," Shuichi replied. Chihiro nodded and gave a thumbs' up.

**Hajime**

"Last question," the waitress said. "Which country does not border Thailand? Burma, Malaysia, or Vietnam?"

"Vietnam," Hajime replied.

"_One of the questions was 'which country doesn't border Thailand," Hajime said. "And I knew it instantly. Obviously, I looked at a map of the country on Google before we arrived. But I cared more about the fact that I thought was done with the spicy food."_

Hajime ate the fried rice. "My mouth is so full of spice that I don't even know if this is spicy or not."

He got done with it rather quickly as he downed another pitcher of water and slid the empty plate away from him, where the waitress picked it up.

"Now for dessert," the waitress said, bringing out a pepper.

"You're fucking kidding me," Hajime said.

"Nope!" the waitress replied, giggling. "This is the last thing. Just eat it and you're done."

Hajime picked it up by the stem and popped it into his mouth.

"Go on, chew it." the waitress said. He reluctantly bit down on it, sending his mouth into another burst of anarchy and hell.

"It's… *huff* it's down," Hajime said. He wiped a tear out of his eye, then realized what just happened.

"Did I just touch my eye? Oh, that was a mistake! Oh fuck!"

Chiaki rushed in and took his hand to pull him out of the shop.

"Are you alright?" Chiaki asked.

"Don't worry about me. Just read the clue."

Hajime unscrewed a bottle of water and poured it over his eye.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Detour. Flair or Chair?"

"I think we should do Chair," Hajime said. "Unlike the last time, it looks like they map out the route. It seems really straightforward and there are less technical things to keep track of…"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"The sun is down…" Leon said, retying the straps and trying to push the legs out of the way. "That's a bad sign."

They successfully tied down the rug as the judge handed over their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

They ran outside and hailed a cab with little to no effort. "I have less respect for elephants now," Leon said.

"Leon, Ibuki thinks you're being wayyy too dramatic and you're going to make the audience hate you."

"Oh, yeah, this is going to be broadcast on national television. I guess I forgot."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru arrived at the rickshaws.

"Why don't we do a test run?" Nagito asked. "As in, we just run around in circles here to make sure I can actually pull your weight. I'm unsure at the moment."

"I'm fine with that," Nekomaru replied. Nekomaru stepped into the seat of the rickshaw as Nagito picked up the handles and began moving. "This isn't _too_ bad. You're heavy, but I can definitely make half a mile. Not sure how fast I can make it, but I can definitely go all the way."

They swapped seats so now Nekomaru was pulling Nagito.

"Alright, where's the route?" Nekomaru asked.

"There's a yellow and red race arrow over there. It's illuminated with a light underneath it so we can see it in the dark, so it's probably that."

Nekomaru picked up the rickshaw handles and pulled Nagito with little difficulty.

"This is nothing! You're like a feather!" Nekomaru shouted. He began running.

**Chihiro**

"That was a good meal," Chihiro said. The waitress took the plate and asked the second question. "Which river divides Thailand and Laos? Is it the Mekong River, the Chao Phraya river, or the Tha Chin river?"

"I have no clue," Chihiro said. "Uhh… Chao Phraya."

The waitress brought out the plate of curry and placed it in front of Chihiro. He put it in his mouth.

"Oh god," he said. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god."

*Cough* *HICCUP*

"Aw, isn't she just the cutest when she's hiccuping?" Kaede said.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Hina replied. "He does look like he's in pain, though, but I'm also in pain knowing I can't run over there to do anything."

**Shuichi**

Shuichi also took a bite of the curry and had a similar reaction. "Nope. Oh, god… I'm gonna die."

"_That was the spiciest thing that I have ever eaten," Shuichi said. "And that was the most pain I've ever been in."_

He coughed and spat all over the floor, desperately getting up to drink some water.

* * *

**Please leave a comment about what you think! Tell me about who you're rooting for, your predictions, and your suggestions to make Season 2 an improvement for this one! Also, feel free to suggest locations to me about the Season 2 route!**

**Also... judging from how things turned out so far, who do you think is getting eliminated next? Who will win the leg? And who will win the race?**


	18. Leg 9.2

**Leg 9.2**

* * *

**Chihiro**

*cough*

He shoved the last of the curry into his mouth and pinched his nose, as if that would help with the pain.

"There, I'm *hic* I'm done."

He took a sip of water as the waitress took his plate.

"Final question," she said. "What country does not border Thailand? Burma, Malaysia, or Vietnam?"

"Malaysia," Chihiro replied, gasping in pain. "Oh god."

He put his elbows on the table and clasped the back of his neck.

**Shuichi**

"Vietnam," Shuichi said, hiccuping.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nekomaru was running, pulling Nagito along with the rickshaw.

"We need to look for a marker where we have to get out and switch, alright?" Nagito said.

"I'm lookin'!" Nekomaru shouted. "I'm just in the zone! And, even if I do miss it, that doesn't mean you're not allowed to look too! It's not a Roadblock!"

He continued running and then tripped over a rock, causing the rickshaw to fling Nagito in front and into a car.

"I'm getting Greece flashbacks," Nagito said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Here are the rickshaws," Hajime said. They picked one as Chiaki got into the back and Hajime began running.

"Are you good?" Chiaki asked. "I'm not too heavy, am I?"

"No, you're fine… I'm just concerned about running a mile and a half." Hajime replied. "And my tongue is still on fire, and I'm blind out of my right eye. So you're going to have to help me look for the arrows and the markers, okay?"

"Got it," Chiaki replied.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro's hands shook as he put some of the extremely hot fried rice into his mouth and washed it down with water.

"_It felt like my tongue was pressed against an electrical socket." Chihiro explained. "I just cannot say in perfect words exactly how it felt."_

**Shuichi**

Shuichi panted as he ate his mild rice. "I don't even know whether this is spicy or not. Did I get it right? I'm still dying over here."

After a few more minutes, he shoved the last spoonful of rice into his mouth. "There. I'm done. Give me the clue."

The waitress laughed as she grabbed the empty plate and came out with a single pepper.

"Oh, you're killing me, girl," he said. He just grabbed the pepper and popped the entire thing into his mouth as he downed a glass of water, then spat it out all over the table and floor, coughing. The waitress handed over the clue as he got up and ran to Kaede.

"That sucked," Shuichi said.

"Well, in that case, I'm glad how things turned out," Kaede replied, laughing at his pain. They ripped the clue open.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Detour. Chair or Flair?" Kaede read. "I think we should do Flair."

"Alright."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

A few cars honked around them as they were running in the middle of the street. Dead smack in the center.

"Go around!" Nekomaru shouted. Drivers shouted at them in Thai, but they couldn't understand anything.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It's getting to me," Hajime said, profusely sweating. "I don't know how much longer I can go without taking a break."

"Just clear your mind. It's fine if you take a break, but do your best," Chiaki replied.

"_True, night fell on us," Hajime said. "But it was still around eighty to ninety degrees and the humidity didn't make this easy."_

**Chihiro**

Chihiro finished up the dish as he pushed the empty plate away from him and off the table, where it shattered. However, he was in too much pain to care about that as the waitress sweeped it up and shot him a nasty glare. She then brought out the pepper.

"I… I have to eat this?" Chihiro asked. The waitress nodded as he took a little nibble and began to tear up.

"Oh god I can't!" he said. He looked at Hina waiting as he reluctantly popped the whole thing into his mouth and chewed as the waitress handed them the clue. He grabbed the clue and chugged his glass of water, which fell out of his hand and smashed on the floor, but he could really care less due to the pain.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Detour," Hina read. "Think you could carry me for half a mile? Carry 110 pounds?"

"I'm not sure," Chihiro replied. "I don't know how much the rickshaw itself weighs. I'd avoid it."

"Fine, we're doing flair," Hina replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon stared out the window of the cab, pissed off.

"God, if we get eliminated from that stupid elephant, I'm going to lose my shit."

"Come on, you're sooo neggo. We have a Roadblock and a Detour coming up. Ibuki swears that we will make up the time!"

They got out of their cab and ran up to the clue box.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Ibuki read. "Ibuki'll do it!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito pointed to a sign that said 'Switch', lit up in red and yellow light.

"I guess I have to pull you now," Nagito said. Nekomaru put down the rickshaw as Nagito stepped down and switched spots. Now with Nagito pulling it, he was showing some considerable difficulty pulling Nekomaru.

"Hngh…" he groaned. "At least I'm moving. I can do this pace for half a mile."

"Come on, Nagito! Put some oomph into it! Come on! You want that million, right? Don't think about me! Just think about how your journey depends on this challenge!"

"_I was having some trouble pulling Nekomaru, because he weighed like 220 pounds or something," Nagito said. "After a while, my hands became blistered over the weight of Nekomaru and the cart. But of course, I still tried my hardest"_

"NGAAAAHHHH!" he shouted, inching forwards.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We don't see Nagito and Nekomaru at all," Chiaki said. "But we know they're not that far ahead of us. They only left around maybe five or ten minutes before us. I doubt they did the other detour."

"All we have to do… ugh… is make up that time." Hajime replied.

"Are you alright? You sound like you're dying."

"I'm fine, just exhausted… and I have to use the bathroom after all that water I consumed earlier… and I can still feel that pepper…"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Do you know what flair bartending even is?" Kaede asked.

"It's a method of bartending in which you toss the bottles and glasses around while making a cocktail, and it's supposed to entertain the customers."

"Is it like juggling?" Kaede asked.

"Kind of? I'm not sure how complex it could be but this could either be so much easier than the rickshaws or ten times harder. But you know how we do at the strength challenges."

Their taxi stopped as they got our and ran into the blocked-off street.

"Marked bar… marked bar…" Kaede muttered. They found the bar marked with a red and yellow sticker as they ran inside.

"Alright, what do we have to do?" Shuichi asked. They went up to the bar where they watched the bartender demonstrate.

The bartender grabbed the first bottle with his left hand and half of the cocktail shaker with his right. He flipped the bottle with his left hand and caught it sideways by the neck, and swung his left arm downwards to his right arm as he tossed the shaker in the air, over his right arm, and caught it. He threw both the bottle and the shaker in the air to swap hands. Then, he spun the bottle around and caught it while upside down to pour the contents into the shaker. He repeated it a second time for the second liquor and capped it. Then, he tossed it around and juggled it for a bit before grabbing it and shaking it again, then pouring it out into the glass.

"Oh, damn," Shuichi said. "That is so complex, there are so many things that could go wrong."

"We should at least try it," Kaede replied. "Before we even consider switching."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina arrived right after Shuichi and Kaede finished watching the demo.

"How'd they catch up so fast?" Kaede asked. She ignored them as they began practicing and Chihiro and Hina began to watch the demo.

"Oh my god," Chihiro said, fingers squeezing his temples. Hina looked in awe.

"_That was more like a circus act than a bartending method," Chihiro said. "It was amazing, but I really doubt that we could get that down on our first attempt."_

**Ibuki**

"Mountain Jewel," she said. The waitress went out back to bring a plate of pad thai as she ate it up rapidly, but ended up choking on it. Leon had to run behind her to give her the Heimlich maneuver.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito gasped and wheezed as he continued pulling Nekomaru.

"Are we there yet?" he asked, dead inside.

"I see the endpoint up there!" Nekomaru shouted. "Keep going! Don't fail me!"

"_Being a Team Manager is helpful in a situation like this," Nekomaru said. "I can encourage anyone! I'M NEKOMARU NIDAIII!"_

Nagito walked the extra few feet as he dropped the rickshaw and collapsed on the floor. The person waiting at the location handed him a bottle of water and their clue.

"Thank you," Nagito said. He ripped the clue open and read it between pants.

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Nagito read

**[i] Proceed to: Surakul Pier**

**[i] Boat to Pit Stop: Koh Panyee**

_ **Teams must now make their way back to the Thai mainland to Surakul Pier. Once they arrive at the pier, they must take one of these long-tailed boats down the river to the island and fishing village of Koh Panyee, where I will be waiting for them. The last team to check in may be eliminated.** _

"Alright, we can do this!" Nekomaru shouted. "Let's get another first place!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hnnnnggggg!" Hajime shouted.

"Up here!" Chiaki pointed.

"Where? You're behind me."

"To your left! 10 o'clock! We switch now!"

"Oh, thank god," Hajime replied. They got up and swapped places as Hajime poured his bottle of water over his head.

A taxi went by them.

"Oh, and there's Nagito and Nekomaru," Hajime said, pointing to a cab. "Hopefully the Pit Stop is somewhere far and somewhere they can get lost. They're still in first place right now, but we do want them out of here."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede picked up their first bottles as they flipped them, simultaneously dropping them.

"Oh my god," Kaede said. "I jus- this is impossible,"

"Don't get worked up," Shuichi replied. "Let's just calm down and practice it."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina flipped their bottles as they both caught them successfully. Then they brought their left arms over as they flipped the bottom of the shakers, dropping them.

"I'm not sure if this is the right choice," Chihiro said.

"_We had to do this perfectly twice, then do a bunch of maneuvers with the cocktail shakers afterwards," Chihiro said. "We felt like perfecting this so BOTH of us would be able to do it with no mistakes would just take too long, so we got out of there quickly."_

"I think we should switch," Chihiro said.

"I'm not saying that this isn't going to take a while, but are you certain you can drag me for half a mile?"

"It'll be exhausting, but I'm certain we'll be done with the Detour faster."

"Alright, let's do it! We're switching!" Hina shouted, running out of the bar.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon watched as Ibuki gobbled down the rest of the pad thai.

"Alright, next!" She shouted.

The waitress came back out. "Which river divides Thailand and Laos?" She asked. "The Mekong River, the Chao Phraya river, or the Tha Chin river?"

"Erm…" Ibuki said. "Eenie meenie minie mo. Chao Phraya."

The waitress nodded as she brought out the curry as Ibuki picked up the bowl and chugged it. When she was done, she wiped her face.

*COUGH*

She coughed all over the table as she downed some water. "Oh… that was a mistake!"

"You're doing great!" Leon shouted.

"_Ibuki is normally fine with spicy food," Ibuki said. "But this was cursed with the flames from hell!"_

She took another swig of water as she coughed and spat it all over the rice.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Chiaki winced as she took a few more steps towards the end goal.

"Come on! Just a few more steps!" Hajime shouted. Chiaki gasped as they reached the end and she released the rickshaw.

The person handed over the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Surakul Pier and take a longtail boat to Koh Panyee for your next Pit Stop. Warning: the last team to check in may be eliminated. Alright, let's get outta here." Hajime said. Chiaki said nothing and poured the water bottle over her head.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think we're ready to try," Shuichi said. He and Kaede stepped up to the bar as they began the procedure.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede flipped the bottles with success. After bringing their left arms over to the right arms, they flipped the open shaker over their left arm and caught it again. But when they flipped them in the air to swap hands, Kaede's shaker hit the bottle as they crashed onto the floor.

"No," the judge said. "No good. More practice."

"Argh," Kaede said. "This is so hard."

"We can get this," Shuichi replied. "We can do this if we practice enough."

"But if we switch-"

"If we switch, we'll be fifteen minutes behind Chihiro and Hina at the next challenge. Our best bet is to just continue doing this for as long as we-."

"So what if we're fifteen minutes behind Chihiro and Hina? What if we stay here and Leon and Ibuki fly by the rickshaws?"

"Kaede, we're not switching. We're here, we can do this, we're staying."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Last question," the waitress said. "Which of the following countries does not border Thailand? Burma, Malaysia, or Vietnam?"

"Erm… Vietnam?" Ibuki asked. The judge handed over the fried rice which she ate with extreme ease. She cleared her plate quickly and pushed it to the waitress.

"I'm done, right?" Ibuki asked. The waitress laughed as she brought one single pepper. Ibuki ate it with no thought and coughed up the stem.

"Oh, god," Ibuki said, fanning her face. The judge handed her the clue as Ibuki chugged the water pitcher and poured the rest on her head.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Alright, good job, Ibuki!" Leon shouted. He stood up and grabbed his bags, until he noticed something underneath the chair he was sitting on.

"Oh… L… Leon…" Ibuki panted. "What a… are you waiting for?"

"Nothing…" He replied. He bent over and picked it up. "There's a Japanese passport here."

Ibuki took it from him, opened it up, and read through it. "It's Nekomaru's."

"They can't check into the Pit Stop without it. Even if they could, they can't leave the country without it." Leon said. "We're in last, and we need this right now. Let's just leave it here, and hope they don't know where they left it. If we see them, and they ask about it, just say nothing."

"_While leaving the Roadblock, we noticed Nekomaru's passport on the floor," Leon said. "We know that they won't be allowed to check into the Pit Stop without their travel documents and they would have to go back for it. So, we just decided to leave it on the floor where we found it. It's not our fault that they lost their passport. If they're that irresponsible, they pay the price."_

Leon ripped the clue open.

"Detour. Flair or Chair?" Leon read.

"Flair!" Ibuki shouted.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"Yeah, here's good," Nagito said. Nekomaru unzipped the fanny pack to get the money to pay the driver, but he poked around a bit first.

"What are you doing?" Nagito asked.

"Oh.. uhh…" he said, taking literally everything out of the pack.

"You have the money! What else do you need?"

"My passport's gone." Nekomaru replied.

"What?"

"_I unzip my fanny pack to get our money for the driver, then I just realize that my passport isn't where it normally is," Nekomaru said. "And my heart just sinks."_

"We have to turn around," Nekomaru said.

"Are you kidding me?" Nagito asked. "I can't believe you did that, dude."

"Fuck," he said.

Nagito frowned and hunched over the armrest with his fingers at his temple.

"I know I said that I wouldn't mind if we're eliminated, but if we were, I'd want it to be because we're objectively weaker than the other teams, not because of some stupid mistake like this."

Nekomaru sighed. "Like you said when we met, your supreme good luck is always followed by equally bad luck,"

"This has nothing to do with luck. This is just you being irresponsible and inattentive. Now, we have to go the entire twenty minute ride back to Phuket. Nice."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina got out of their cab as they ran up to the rickshaws.

"This doesn't look too bad," Chihiro said. "Let's just try it."

"Alright, if you say so," Hina replied. Hina got in front of the rickshaw and picked up the bar as Chihiro sat in the back.

"You're really light!" Hina said. "We can blast through this first mile and a half."

Hina began running with very little difficulty.

"Woah!" Chihiro shouted. "You're fast!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 13th Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede simultaneously poured the first bottle into the shakers. They picked up the second bottle and tried to repeat the process, but the liquid spilled out and they were failed.

"Dammit." Kaede said, gripping her upper arm.

"It's alright. There's no other teams yet, so we can just continue doing this over and over again without having to wait. We're definitely getting better."

"I don't understand how we're supposed to throw the shakers around without spilling the liquor. We literally have to spin it around!"

"Well, that's what you're supposed to do. If you flip it around fast enough, inertia will keep it inside. As long as it's not too slow."

"Got it," Kaede said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki rode in their cab as they saw Nagito and Nekomaru pass them in the opposite direction.

"What?" Hajime asked. "What happened?"

"Something must've gone seriously wrong," Chiaki said. "Or their driver decided to turn around for some reason. That's their problem, not ours. We should just continue."

They continued in silence as their cab stopped and they fed him some cash. They ran down to the docks and found the marked boats.

"How do I drive this?" Hajime asked.

"There's a motor on the back," Chiaki replied. "It shouldn't be too hard to drive."

Hajime and Chiaki stepped inside as Hajime untied the rope connecting the boat to the dock. He pressed a button on the boat as they went off, away from the docks, and down the river.

"Make sure to look for route markers," Hajime said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro stepped out as he swapped spots with Hina.

"That took around ten minutes," Chihiro said. "Wow… I hope Shuichi and Kaede are still struggling. This half mile will take a while."

He groaned as he picked up the handles of the rickshaw.

"Are you okay?" Hina asked.

"I'm fine," Chihiro groaned. "I can do this."

He began walking and pulling the rickshaw.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 23rd Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede filled the shaker with the second liquor as the bottle slipped out of Shuichi's hands and clanged about the floor.

"Butterfingers," Kaede teased. "We were so close, too. Are you like that with evidence?"

"I'm tired and my arms are sore. Leave me alone."

Shuichi looked up as Leon and Ibuki came running in. "Oh, they've caught up." Kaede said. "Maybe they wouldn't have if we had switched."

"Kaede, stop! Stop it already! It's too late to switch!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki looked at Kaede and Shuichi.

"We still have a chance!" Leon said. "Let's look at the demo."

They walked up to the demonstration and watched it.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Ibuki shouted.

"It also looks… real hard…" Leon said. "I'm not sure if we could do this."

"We could switch if you wanted. We only just got here."

"Alright, let's switch." Leon said, leaving the building.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru continued sitting in their cab, anxiety running high. Then their cab pulled over.

"What?" Nekomaru asked.

"I get gas," The driver replied.

"Gas?" Nagito asked. "Fine. It's better than running out. Make it quick."

They waited as the driver got gas. "Nekomaru, where did you leave it?"

"I have no idea," he replied. "I guess we're just going to have to go to every location we've been to so far to search for it and ask around. Let's go to the zoo first."

"Oh, I really hope it's not in a cab," Nagito said. "If you left it in a cab, we're never seeing it again."

"Maybe we can go to a police station and ask if someone turned it in?"

"I guess so…"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime steered the boat as they followed the lit-up yellow and red arrows.

"This place would be a lot more beautiful if it was daytime and we could actually see these mountains and islands, but it's alright," Hajime said. "Hopefully we'll be able to see it tomorrow morning at the start of the next leg."

They continued following the arrows until the river emptied out into a small cove, with an island with the race flag on top. "There!"

They inched into the dock as they tied down their boat and turned off the motor, and they stepped off.

"He's somewhere here," Hajime said. "The village isn't that big. Let's just run around and find it."

They ran around a few streets until they saw Monokuma at a lookout spot and leapt on the mat.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "You are team number ONE!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st Place**

"Wow," Hajime said. "Two first places in a row!"

"I'm grateful," Chiaki said, hand on her chest. "We're such a strong team, and we can definitely win this if we try hard enough."

"For winning this leg of the race, you have won a trip to Sydney, Australia, which you can enjoy after the race."

"Thanks!" Hajime said. "Wow. I still can't believe it."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro inched forwards, gasping and dripping with sweat.

"You've got this!" Hina shouted.

"T-thanks…" Chihiro replied, using all of his body weight to pull it.

"You're strong! You're so strong!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 31st Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede mixed the drinks together in the same shaker, and put the caps on. They tossed it around for a bit, then began shaking them back and forth. But, Kaede's cap fell off and all of the liquor spilled out onto the floor.

"Oh, come on!" Kaede shouted. "We were so close, too!"

"We'll get it next time," Shuichi replied.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled up to a police station as they went inside.

"Hi, does anyone here speak english?" Nagito asked.

"ฉันช่วยคุณได้ไหม"

They went out onto the street and plucked someone off the sidewalk. "Do you speak English and Thai?" Nagito asked.

"Yes?" the man asked.

"Can you help us translate?" Nekomaru asked.

"A-alright…" he replied. They brought him into the police station as they had a conversation with the police.

"Ask them if someone turned in our passports."

He asked the cop in Thai as the cop gave a Thai response.

"No one turned in a passport," the man replied.

"Ask them if there's a way to get a new Japanese passport."

He translated as the cop replied.

"The only way to get a new passport is to fly up to Bangkok," he said.

"Oh, no, we can't do that." Nagito replied. "Thank you, let's go."

They left the building and went back to the cab.

"Phuket zoo," Nekomaru commanded. "God dammit! I can't believe I'm so irresponsible. I haven't just sabotaged my own race, but yours too."

A few tears came down his face as Nagito made no effort to comfort him.

"Let's just hope that we can find it." Nagito said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro dropped the rickshaw and wiped his forehead.

"It's alright, take all the time you need," Hina replied, throwing Chihiro a bottle of water. Chihiro picked up the rickshaw as he continued pulling it.

**Shuichi and Kaede: 33rd Attempt**

Shuichi and Kaede flipped the bottle and poured the second bottle of liquor into the shaker. They closed it tight, tossed it around, then shook it back and forth. They opened it up and poured it into the cocktail glasses.

"Is it good? Huh?" Kaede asked. The judge walked up and handed them the clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

They ripped it open, read the next location, and left the building.

"That took forever," Kaede said. "Hopefully the other detour is harder."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro pulled the rickshaw the last few steps and dropped it at the endpoint. The clueholder handed over the clue as Chihiro smiled, panted, and ripped it open.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 4th Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Hina read.

"I did it…" Chihiro said. "I really did it…"

"You did great! You carried us this leg!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki made their way to the rickshaws as Leon picked up the end and began running.

"You got this, Leon!" Ibuki shouted.

"Oh, this is heavy!" Leon shouted. "I can do it."

He began walking and pulling the rickshaw.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru got out at the zoo and ran around to the elephant enclosure.

"Search everywhere," Nagito said. "Outside the enclosure, inside the enclosure…"

Nagito and Nekomaru leaned over the railing and looked in the enclosure. But, it was dark, so Nagito took a flashlight out of his backpack and shined it on the ground.

"See anything?" Nagito asked.

"No," Nekomaru replied. "Maybe it's out here on the pathway?"

Nekomaru began running around the pathway and on the path between the elephant enclosure and the entrance, and came up short.

"Nothing?" Nagito asked.

"Nothing." Nekomaru replied.

"Let's just leave and go to the restaurant." Nagito said, sighing. "Even if we do find the passport, we've already unnecessarily wasted so much money on cab fares. Dammit."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon grunted as he ran with the rickshaw as Ibuki sprayed him with a water bottle in the back.

"I would normally tell you to stop," Leon said. "But I'm too exhausted."

"Mush!" Ibuki shouted.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Wait, that cab behind us," Shuichi said. "Is that Chihiro and Hina?"

"Oh, crap!" Kaede said. "Sir, go faster," she told the driver.

"I can't," the driver replied. "I don't want speeding ticket."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Pass them!" Chihiro shouted.

The cab passed them and sped up, leaving them behind.

"Yeah!" Hina said. "You go!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"No!" Shuichi shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki swapped spots as they continued moving on, at more or less the same speed.

"You're going faster than I thought, Buki!"

"Ibuki is stronger than she looks," Ibuki replied. "Ehh… it's still tiring, though."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina stepped out of the cab as they paid and ran down to the docks.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede paid their driver too, and ran right after Chihiro and Hina.

"We can beat them there," Shuichi said. "We can do it."

Each of them stepped into their boats and turned on the motors. At the point where they were both on the water, Chihiro and Hina were a considerable bit ahead of Shuichi and Kaede.

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru pulled up in their cab to the restaurant as they ran inside.

"Has anyone turned in a passport?" Nagito asked.

"No," The waitress replied. "Sorry."

Nagito and Nekomaru crawled on the floor and looked at all the tables and chairs.

"Where is it?" Nagito asked. After a few minutes of searching, they ran outside.

"Come on, let's go. It's not here," Nagito said. As he turned around to look at Nekomaru, he noticed a small red square on the floor under a chair outside of the restaurant. Running up to it, he opened it up.

"I got it!" Nagito shouted.

"Great!" Nekomaru replied. "Let's go!"

They got back into the cab as he took them to the pier.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki dropped the rickshaw as they handed over the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Leon read. "Hopefully they haven't found their passport yet."

* * *

Chihiro and Hina sailed into the dock and ran to the Pit Stop.

"Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma said. "You are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

Hina counted four of her fingers and held it up for Monokuma to see.

"See this?" She asked. "That's the amount of second places we have in a row."

She held up her other hand in a fist. "This is the amount of first places we have total."

"Well, hopefully you'll get it tomorrow. Or they day after. Or the finale."

"We'll see…" Chihiro said.

"Oh, look, here's the next team." Monokuma said, pointing to Shuichi and Kaede running to the mat.

"Shuichi and Kaede, you are team number three."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd Place**

"Okay," Shuichi said. "Not bad… we're not eliminated… so that's alright."

"It's not our best but at least we're still in it," Kaede replied.

"Wow I've never seen someone so upset about third place before." Monokuma said.

"We're used to running in the front," Shuichi replied. "Third place out of eleven? Phenominal. Third place out of five? Middle of the pack… not that great."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

Nagito and Nekomaru's cab let them out at the pier.

"Let's go!" Nagito shouted.

"Wait," the driver said, holding up the money. "What is this?"

"What are you talking about? It's the fare!" Nekomaru shouted.

"I don't know what this money is."

"It's literally everything we have." Nagito replied.

"I don't know what these currencies are. I want baht!"

"We don't have any baht!" Nekomaru shouted. "We gave you all our baht!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki's cab pulled up to the pier as they paid their driver, grabbed their stuff, and ran.

"Was that Nagito and Nekomaru?" Ibuki asked. "Ibuki wonders what they're doing."

"It doesn't matter." Leon replied. "Let's go, while they're still behind us!"

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"That's from the United States, that's from Canada, that's from Morocco, that's from Brazil," Nagito said. "You can exchange it!"

"But how do I know exchanging this will cover the fare?"

"It will. And even if it doesn't, it's everything we have! We can't negotiate any further!" Nekomaru shouted.

"Fine. Go." the driver said. Nagito and Nekomaru ran up to the docks and looked up at the boat down the river.

"Is that Leon and Ibuki?" Nekomaru asked.

"It doesn't matter… we just need to pass that boat!" Nagito shouted. They stepped into their boat as Nagito turned on the engine.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Nagito and Nekomaru are right on our tail," Leon said, looking behind them. "Hopefully they can't catch up."

**Nagito and Nekomaru**

"We're definitely getting closer to them," Nagito said. "We'll be tailing them soon. It's only a matter of how far away the island is."

* * *

Monokuma waited at the outlook as a boat docked on the island. Looking around the corner, Leon and Ibuki ran over the pier and jumped on the mat just as Nagito and Nekomaru's boat came in.

"Wait," Monokuma said, waiting for Nagito and Nekomaru to arrive at the mat. Once they stepped on, Monokuma began speaking.

"Nagito and Nekomaru," he said. "Have you found your passports?"

"We do," Nagito said, holding up Nekomaru's passport. "But I doubt it matters at this point."

Monokuma nodded. "Leon and Ibuki, you are team number four."

**Leon and Ibuki: 4th Place**

They hugged each other, happy at still being in the race.

"And, of course, Nagito and Nekomaru, you are the last team to arrive."

They nodded.

"And I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Nagito and Nekomaru: Eliminated**

"Damn…" Nekomaru said. "We almost came in first… but I was so careless."

"_Yeah… we got eliminated…" Nagito said. "And we had such a good and lucky leg today."_

"_But at least we got to go to nine countries and do these amazing team bonding experiences!" Nekomaru shouted. "I wouldn't change anything!"_

"_I would've made sure you kept your passport," Nagito replied._

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Hajime and Chiaki

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Shuichi and Kaede

4th: Leon and Ibuki

_ **Eliminated: Nagito and Nekomaru** _

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.44

Hajime and Chiaki: 3.56

_ **Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.56** _

Chihiro and Hina: 4.22

Leon and Ibuki: 5.11

_Makoto and Sayaka: 4.00_

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Hajime 6, Chiaki 4

Chihiro 5, Hina 5

Shuichi 5, Kaede 5

Leon 5, Ibuki 5

_ **Nagito 5, Nekomaru 5** _

_Makoto 5, Sayaka 4_

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

The final four face off in the metropolis of Hong Kong.

_*Chihiro and Hina running in a lion dance costume through Nathan Road*_

"_ROOOOOOAR!" Hina shouted. "MOVE!"_

A mythological Roadblock puts the stress on Chiaki.

_*Chiaki carrying a stone dragon statue*_

_*sigh* "I don't think I can continue. I should've done the last one."_

And Leon and Ibuki have cab troubles.

"_No! Turn around!" Leon shouted. "Let us out!"_

Who will be eliminated next?


	19. Leg 10.1

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

Five teams raced through the island of Phuket in Southern Thailand.

Four of the teams conspired to take out tough competitors Nagito and Nekomaru.

"_While looking around the teams, we realized that we all had one enemy that we wanted to take out today." Shuichi said. "That's Nagito and Nekomaru."_

"_Sure, we had that pact with them to try and tear down the alliance, but that practically happened." Hina said. "It wasn't an alliance, and it wasn't a friendship. Nagito and Nekomaru are serious threats, and as it looks like Shuichi and Kaede are probably going to target them, why not join in?"_

In Thailand, Leon got riled up with a stubborn elephant.

_*elephant squishing Leon's hands while he's trying to tie a rope around its legs*_

_"God, WHY IS OUR ELEPHANT SO FUCKING STUBBORN?"_

At the Roadblock, Nagito had a mild meal.

"_It's pretty good," Nagito said, eating pad thai._

But the competition heated up for the others.

_*Chihiro, Hajime, and Shuichi coughing and wheezing*_

In the end, Hajime and Chiaki checked in first and got their second place in a row.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "You are team number ONE!"

However, after staying in first for most of the leg, a lost passport caused Nagito and Nekomaru to backtrack.

_"My passport's gone." Nekomaru replied._

_"I can't believe you did that, dude," Nagito replied. "I know I said that I wouldn't mind if we're eliminated, but if we were, I'd want it to be because we're objectively weaker than the other teams, not because of some stupid mistake like this."_

And they never made up the time.

"_Nagito and Nekomaru, you are the last team to arrive. And I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."_

Four teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

_ **This is Koh Panyee, a small island and fishing village off the shore of southern Thailand. Surrounded with beautiful mountains and islands, it will now be the picturesque start for the tenth leg in a race around the world.** _

_ **Hajime and Chiaki won the previous leg, and will depart first at 12:35 PM.** _

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st to depart, 12:35 PM**

Hajime and Chiaki stood at the pier as they ripped open their clue.

"Fly to Guangzhou, China," Hajime read.

**[i] Fly to: Guangzhou, China**

_ **Teams must now leave the natural beauty of rural Thailand and fly northeast over one thousand miles to the urban cityscape of China's most populous city, Guangzhou. Once teams touch down in Guangzhou, they must find their cars in the parking lot and drive themselves to Guangzhou's famous Canton Tower, where they will find their next clue.** _

"Alright, let's go!" Chiaki said.

"_We are leaving, once again, in first place." Hajime said. "I didn't think we'd be able to get two first places in a row, but it puts us on a tie with Shuichi and Kaede's amount of wins. This shows that we are one of the powerhouses of this race."_

They boarded a longtail boat as it set sail from the dock of the island.

"You see? Look at those mountains and islands!" Chiaki pointed. "We didn't get to see much of those last night!" **(A/N: Seriously. Google "Phang Nga Bay". It's amazing.)**

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd to depart, 1:04 PM**

"Fly to Guangzhou," Chihiro read. They got onto the docks and into their longtail boat as they were driven back to shore.

"Second, second, second," Hina said. "It's always second."

"We've gotten second place five times so far," Chihiro said. "In Montreal, Athens, South Africa, Dubai, and now Thailand. That's half our race."

"We need to make some kind of change so we can finally get first," Hina replied. "I'm getting tired of trailing another team."

**Shuichi and Kaede: 3rd to depart, 1:06 PM**

"We're going to China," Shuichi said. "Neither of us have ever been to China, but we're getting closer and closer to home and Japan."

"The important thing is just staying in this race," Kaede said. "We'd be stoked if we managed to get out Hajime and Chiaki, but as long as we're here, we're not complaining.

* * *

**Phuket International Airport**

The three teams sat in the airport, terminal displaying "Guangzhou, China".

"What happened to Nagito and Nekomaru?" Chihiro asked. "They were so far ahead of us."

"We're not sure," Hajime replied. "When we were on our way to the pier, though, their cab turned around and backtracked."

"Something must've gone wrong," Shuichi said. "We hope they went home. Leon and Ibuki aren't much of a threat."

Leon and Ibuki arrived at the terminal. "How's it hanging?"

"Oh my god hi!" Kaede said, standing up and giving them a huge hug.

"What happened yesterday?" Chiaki asked.

"Our elephant needed a bug fix," Leon said. "That set us behind, but we noticed that Nagito and Nekomaru lost their passport at the Roadblock. We managed to finish everything and

"What?" Hina asked. "Yeesh. What a hard way to go out…"

"Let's look on the bright side," Hajime said. "They're no longer a threat."

"True that," Hina replied. "Final four. Let's do this."

* * *

_ **Teams are now on the same flight via Manila en route to Guangzhou, China.** _

* * *

**Guangzhou International Airport, 10:00 AM**

"Go!" Chihiro shouted. The teams raced out to the front of the airport parking lot to look for their marked cars.

"Here!" Ibuki pointed. Each of them simultaneously got into their cars as they drove out of the parking lot.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Where are we going?" Shuichi asked.

"It's a huge tower. We can't miss it." Kaede replied.

"I know, but how do we get there?"

"Just head towards it. I'm pretty sure the streets are formatted like a grid."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We're on our way to the Canton Tower," Hina said. "We did some research on it at the airport, there's a ferris wheel on the top so I have no idea if that's coming into play…"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Floor it," Ibuki said. "I think Hajime and Chiaki are right on our tails."

"I don't think going that fast is legal," Leon replied.

"Anything is legal when there's no cops around," Ibuki said.

"I am not going to jail in China."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hajime and Chiaki went left, and us and the other teams went right," Hina said. "Someone's wrong… and I hope we're right."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We did some research on the route, heavier than the others, I'm sure of it," Hajime said. "We used the computers in the Manila airport and noticed that there was a huge pileup on one of the roads, so hopefully us taking a detour will make a huge difference… if the others don't catch it, it'll give us at least a fifteen minute lead."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede stopped as a police officer blocked off the freeway and pointed for them to turn around.

"What's going on?"

"什么"

"What?" Shuichi asked.

"什么"

"I guess we have to turn around," Kaede said. "There's no way around it."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We have to turn around?" Leon asked. "Dammit."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There's a blockage," Chihiro said. "Really?"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Up here! The clue box is right there." Chiaki said. Hajime and Chiaki got out of their car as they ran to the clue box in front of the tower.

"Roadblock," Hajime read. "Who has the strength of an ox and the will of a dragon?"

**[R] Know Your Sign**

_ **Chinese mythology states that animals engaged in a race, with the first twelve that arrived being designated as calendar signs. In this Roadblock, one team member must search through this field of stone statues to find twelve that represent the animals of the zodiac. Once they have found one of the correct statues, they must haul them to the riverbank, where they must place them down on the pedestals in the order of the zodiac. Once all twelve statues have been placed down in the correct order, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"Chiaki must do this roadblock," Hajime read. "Welp… not like we have a choice."

"_Last leg, in Thailand, Chiaki volun-told me to do the Roadblock, which would put me at six roadblocks done so far and with Chiaki having only four." Hajime explained. "So, as a result, she has to do these last two and we have no choice."_

"Alright, I can handle it," Chiaki said.

Chiaki handed Hajime the clue and began running to the field of statues.

"Oh my god," She said, looking at the field of two hundred statues.

Chiaki ran through the grid of the statues and muttered to herself. "Rat… rat… rat…"

"_We had to find twelve statues through this grid of… maybe around two hundred?" Chiaki said. "I know enough about Chinese lore to know the twelve animals that I needed to find. Horse, rat, snake, dragon, pig, ox, dog, monkey, rooster, goat, rabbit, and tiger. But there was a few issues."_

Chiaki bent down. "Is this a rat? No, its ears are too big,"

"_There were a few statues that had animals that were very similar to the ones we were meant to find. Like, it was easy to confuse a mouse for a rat, or a wolf for a dog."_

"Oh, tiger," She said. Chiaki picked up the stone tiger and looped its body around the back of her neck. "Grr… it's really heavy."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Dammit… now we have to backtrack…" Leon said.

"Exit here," Ibuki said.

"I'm just following Shuichi and Kaede."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think Leon and Ibuki are following us," Shuichi said. "It's not that big of a deal, but at this stage, we have to be ahead of everyone we meet."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki carried the dragon statue to the pedestals on the other side of the field and placed it down, sighing.

"I don't know how long I can hold on…" She said. She ran back to the field of statues.

"_The distance between the pedestals and the statues was around… three hundred meters? I'm not entirely sure, but it was a long walk, and the sun was down on my neck…"_

She tripped over a pile of dirt as she immediately stood up and brushed herself off.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"The tower's up there," Chihiro pointed.

"We just need to find a place to park," Hina replied. "I see Chiaki doing the Roadblock right now. What is that?"

They found a parking spot and ran up to the clue box.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock," Hina read. "I'll do it."

**Chiaki**

"That's a rat…" She said between gasps. She picked it up and tucked it under her armpit as she ran back to the pedestals. Then, she looked behind her to see Hina get started.

"Dammit," She said.

"_While I was working on the Roadblock, I noticed Hina arriving at the scene, meaning our lead had completely vanished."_

"I have to get this done," She replied, running up to the pedestals and planting the rat onto it.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"I'll do it," Shuichi said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Me," Leon replied.

**Hina**

"Umm…" Hina said. "What are the animals on the Zodiac again?"

"_The Roadblock told us that we had to find the twelve animals on the Zodiac. But I had no clue about anything on Chinese mythology. I knew that Chihiro probably knew about it, but because it was a Roadblock, we would be penalized if I asked him for help."_

Hina ran up to a few pedestrians.

"Do you speak English? English?"

**Shuichi**

Shuichi ran up to Leon.

"Do you know anything about the Zodiac?" Shuichi asked.

"I was about to ask the same question," Leon replied.

"_I know absolutely nothing about Chinese mythology," Shuichi said. "And I ran up to Leon, and he had no idea either. Hina was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, so obviously she didn't know what we were supposed to be doing. The only option was to ask Chiaki who seemed like she had her stuff together, but I really doubted that she would help us."_

"Worth a shot," Shuichi said. He ran up to Chiaki, who was hauling a horse to her pedestal.

"Chiaki, could you tell me the animals of the zodiac?"

"Absolutely not," She replied.

"_Shuichi came up and asked me about the zodiac," Chiaki said. "It seemed like he had no idea what the animals of the zodiac were. He wanted help and-"_

"_No," Hajime said. "Definitely not. They're the strongest team and our biggest competition. Why would we help them?"_

"Dammit!" Shuichi shouted. He shook his head and began to ask civilians like Hina.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki placed the horse down on the pedestal. "That's five of them," She said.

**Hina**

"English?" Hina asked.

"I speak some english," someone said. "What do you need?"

"Can you tell me the order of the Chinese Zodiac?"

He brought out his phone.

"It's Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig."

"Thank you!" Hina replied. She ran over to Leon and whispered it in his ear.

"_I figured that if we wanted Shuichi and Kaede to come in last today, we needed to work with Leon and Ibuki because, trust me, there's no way they're going to beat Shuichi and Kaede unless they have help." Hina said. "So I gave him the answer."_

Leon nodded then ran over to Shuichi, and blurted out the answer as Hina facepalmed.

"_Then, Leon just runs over to Shuichi and gives him the answer! What the absolute heck?"_

**Shuichi**

"Thanks," Shuichi replied. They all went to the field of statues as they ran around.

"This is a horse," Shuichi said, picking the stone statue up off the ground. "Oomph… it's really heavy…"

**Chiaki**

"I've got three more," Chiaki said. "And the other teams are just barely starting, which makes me feel good about myself."

**Leon**

Leon picked up the stone dragon statue and raised it above his head. "Hnngh…" he groaned.

"_Those statues were huge and heavy," Leon said. "They were a huge pain in the ass to carry."_

"This is hard!" He shouted. "I can do it, though!"

**Hina**

"Grr… stupid Leon..." Hina said, carrying away the tiger statue. "Ruining my clever strategy… you could've just gotten yourself eliminated right there…"

**Shuichi**

Shuichi stood and looked at the ox, which was twice his size. "How the hell am I supposed to carry that?"

**Chiaki**

Chiaki looked at the cow statue. "Ox," She said, "Oof… it's heavy…"

She began pushing it and slid it along the grass.

**Leon**

Leon placed the dragon on the pedestal and ran back to the hall of statues.

"_I realized that the statues varied in size," Leon said. "So I figured I would be able to look for two of the smaller ones, like the rat and the rooster, and just knock them down in one trip."_

He picked up the rooster by the neck and continued searching through the field of statues to grab the rat statue, and very quickly sprinted over to the pedestals.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki finished sliding the cow and used the last of her strength to lift it upwards towards the pedestal.

"One more… the dragon…" she said. She ran back. "I'm so tired…"

**Hina**

Hina grabbed the rat.

"Squeak squeak," she said, running back to the pedestals.

"_It seemed like more people were struggling to actually carry the statues, and I understand why. They were heavy. But for me, the physical aspect wasn't really that big of an issue, which allowed me to actually help gain some time on Chiaki."_

"Alright, four more," Hina said.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki searched the field for the long dragon statue and hung it behind her neck, panting and absolutely drenched in sweat.

"Last one."

She walked and collapsed on the floor.

**Shuichi**

"I think I'm in last, because Chiaki started way ahead of us and Hina and Leon are athletes," Shuichi grunted, pushing the ox statue. "It's fine, we can catch up later, but I'm still terrible at physical challenges. Hopefully the rest of the leg isn't that physical and we'd have to use our heads more. Maybe we'll have to drive a lot longer and the other teams will get lost. But no matter what, I just need to get this done as fast as I possibly can. Any second counts"

**Leon**

Leon ran past Shuichi with both the dragon statue and the tiger statue.

"How?" Shuichi asked.

"I'm just that good," he snarkily replied. "Oh, this is killer on my back."

He stopped and put down the statues, groaning.

**Chiaki**

Chiaki walked with the dragon statue, hunched over and panting. Hoisting it over the pedestal, she sighed.

"I hope this is right… I don't think I can continue. I should've done the last one. Please be right. Check please."

**Chiaki: 1st Check**

**\- Rat**

**\- Dragon**

**\- Dog**

**\- Cow**

**\- Monkey**

**\- Tiger**

**\- Horse**

**\- Rabbit**

**\- Snake**

**\- Pig**

**\- Goat**

**\- Rooster**

"Sorry, it's not correct," the judge said. Chiaki sighed and sat down in order to take a swig of water.

"What?" She asked. She looked at her statues. "I'm certain these are the animals."

She picked up her clue and looked at it.

"Oh… order. Right order…" She muttered. "I don't know the order!"

**Hina**

"I've got one more," Hina said. "Rabbit. I need a rabbit,"

She ran through the grid, searching through the field for a rabbit. "Got it!"

**Shuichi**

"Oh, Chiaki's already done," Shuichi said, looking up. "Damn it! I'm not even halfway!"

**Leon**

"I am neck and neck with Hina right now," Leon said. "We're both on our last one."

**Hina**

Hina ran and placed the rabbit on the pedestal.

"Check!" Hina shouted.

**Hina: 1st Check**

**\- Rat**

**\- Ox**

**\- Tiger**

**\- Rabbit**

**\- Dragon**

**\- Snake**

**\- Horse**

**\- Goat**

**\- Monkey**

**\- Rooster**

**\- Dog**

**\- Pig**

"It's good," The judge said, handing Hina the clue. Chiaki looked up in pain.

"EEEE!" Hina shouted, hugging the judge and taking the clue from him.

"Chihiro!" Hina yelled, running towards Chihiro and tripping over one of the statues, but quickly dusting herself off and getting over there.

"You were amazing!" Chihiro stood, eyes glimmering.

"Thanks," Hina replied. They ripped open their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market in Hong Kong and search for your next clue," Chihiro read.

**[i] Proceed to: Hong Kong**

_ **Teams must now leave the city of Guangzhou and make their way to the municipality of Hong Kong.** _

**[i] Proceed to: Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market**

_ **Once teams arrive in Hong Kong, they must find the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market, where they will find their next clue.** _

"We're in first, we're in first!" Hina cheered, getting into their car.

**Leon**

"It's correct," The judge said.

"Woo!" Leon shouted, hands in the air.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Hong Kong," Leon read. "Hopefully that's not too far."

**Chiaki**

"Do you speak English?" Chiaki asked.

"Yes," the person replied. "I'm from Canada. What do you want?"

"You have a phone?"

"Yes…"

"Can you look up the order of the zodiac?"

**Shuichi**

"The two people who started at the same time… oh god… they left already… and I still have two more statues to find… dammit this is heavy."

He put down the pig statue on the pedestal and ran back to the field of statues.

**Chiaki**

"Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig," Chiaki said. "I just need to rearrange everything."

She went to her circle of pedestals and began lifting the statues off of them to begin rearranging them in the proper order.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina as well as Leon and Ibuki were side-by-side at a traffic light.

"Do you guys have directions?" Chihiro asked.

"No," Ibuki replied. "Ibuki thinks we should work together because we're in first!"

"Eh, it won't hurt," Hina replied. They both parked their cars and ran around trying to get directions.

"Hi, do you speak English?" Ibuki asked.

"..."

"There's a hotel over there," Leon pointed. "We can ask them for directions."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki rearranged the animals on the pedestals.

"Can I get a check, please?" Chiaki asked. The judge walked up and took a look at it.

**Chiaki: 2nd Check**

**\- Rat**

**\- Cow**

**\- Tiger**

**\- Rabbit**

**\- Dragon**

**\- Snake**

**\- Horse**

**\- Goat**

**\- Monkey**

**\- Rooster**

**\- Dog**

**\- Pig**

"I'm sorry, it's not correct," The judge said. Chiaki nodded and took another sip of her water bottle.

"I have it right, right?" She asked. "The order, I've re-read my clue like six times… what is it? I'm tempted to look at Hina and Leon's… I don't want a penalty though."

**Shuichi**

Leon placed the monkey statue on the pedestal and went over them before calling in the judge.

"Check," He said.

**Shuichi: 1st Check**

**\- Rat**

**\- Ox**

**\- Tiger**

**\- Rabbit**

**\- Dragon**

**\- Snake**

**\- Horse**

**\- Goat**

**\- Monkey**

**\- Rooster**

**\- Dog**

**\- Pig**

"It's correct," The judge replied, handing over the clue. Chiaki looked in exasparation as Shuichi ran back to Kaede.

"Nice job, Sweechi!" Kaede shouted. They opened their clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Kaede joked. Hajime overheard and put his hands on his head in stress.

"Warning, the last team WILL be eliminated!" Kaede shouted.

"Shut up!" Hajime shouted.

"Sorry," Shuichi replied, suppressing his laughter.

"Chiaki… what's the deal?"

**Chiaki**

Chiaki went and circled around the statues, counting them off as she remembered. "Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. I have all of them, and I just double checked with a local."

She went through them again, and then looked at her "ox"

"Wait… this isn't an ox… it has no horns... it's just a cow…"

"_I was checking my statues, and I realized that what I thought was an ox… had no horns. Oxen usually have horns, so I figured that was likely what I got wrong. Which was… exhausting to say the least because the ox and the cow were the heaviest statues."_

Chiaki pushed the cow off the pedestal and ran back to the field of statues.

"If that's it, I swear," She said. She found a similar statue with horns on its head and began to push it back to the ring of pedestals.

"Nice job, Chiaki!" Hajime clapped.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We have Leon and Ibuki following us right now," Hina said. "We thought it would be good if we stuck together now that we have some kind of lead on the two stronger teams."

Chihiro turned around and looked behind them. "Never mind, we lost them."

Hina turned around and looked too. "Oh… where'd they go? Well… there goes that, I guess."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Where did they go?" Leon asked. "I don't understand what's happening. We both went to the same location to get the same info on how to get to the same place. How did we lose them?

"We're probably just a bit behind. Don't sweat it!" Ibuki shouted.

"You are so loud."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We're not sure if maybe they just fell further behind, or if they spaced out and got off on a wrong turn or exit somewhere, but what happens is just what happens," Chihiro said. "I am pretty sure we're in the right place… I think we're in Shenzhen now approaching the border with Hong Kong… and there are a few English signs that do help us here. Hong Kong does speak more English than in mainland China, so hopefully we'll have less of a language barrier over there."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki groaned and gripped her abdomen as she pushed the ox statue towards the pedestal and used all of the strength she had to lift it on the pedestal.

"C… check?" She asked.

**Chiaki: 3rd Check**

**\- Rat**

**\- Ox**

**\- Tiger**

**\- Rabbit**

**\- Dragon**

**\- Snake**

**\- Horse**

**\- Goat**

**\- Monkey**

**\- Rooster**

**\- Dog**

**\- Pig**

"Congratulations," The judge said. Chiaki took the clue and slowly trotted back to Hajime.

"Sorry, Hajime," Chiaki said.

"Don't worry. You did your best."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

Chiaki was about to run to the car when Hajime instead picked her up and slung her over his shoulder as he walked down.

"What are you doing?"

"I figured you need to conserve all of the energy you have. We still have a Detour to do, and something tells me it's not going to be easy. Once we get directions, I'll let you take a nice nap on the ride there."

"I'm not your four year old daughter, Hajime."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Do you know how to get to the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market in Hong Kong?" Shuichi asked.

"It's hard to get specifics from Mainland China, because the websites we use can't connect together Mainland China and Hong Kong, so I think your best bet is to get into Hong Kong first and search things from there." the hotel manager said.

"Thank you," Shuichi replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We are now in Hong Kong," Hina said. "At least for now, Hong Kong is kinda green and barren, but it looks like we're headed into the urban part and into the south of Hong Kong island."

"We have no clue where Leon and Ibuki went, but we haven't seen them for around an hour. They were supposed to be following us." Chihiro said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We are completely and utterly lost," Leon said. "We know we have to be at least in Shenzhen by now."

Ibuki rolled down the window and looked outside. "This city is so flashy! Reminds me of Vegas! Minus the desert and strippers."

"I don't think we're in the right place… I'm seeing a lot of what looks like Spanish words."

"What? Did we drive ourselves to Spain? Or Mexico? Or Germany?"

"I don't think th- wait, hang on. Did you say Germany?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We know that Leon and Ibuki are terrible with directions," Shuichi said. "Knowing them and hearing about their stories from Athens, they probably accidentally went to Macau or something."

"Macau?" Kaede asked.

"It's similar to Hong Kong in which it's a municipality that isn't strictly governed by mainland China, but it's pretty far away if you're driving. It was settled by the Portuguese and it's a gambling hub like Las Vegas in the States. It was just a joke, I doubt that they got _that _lost."

"Oh, look, we're approaching the border now." Shuichi said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We're driving to Hong Kong now, and we have yet to see any other teams," Hajime whispered. "Chiaki's sleeping like a baby right now. I don't want to wake her. We need her to recover her strength later."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina parked their cars outside of the fish market and ran up to the clue box up front.

"Route Info. Deshell some seafood," Hina read.

**[i] Deshell Seafood**

_ **This fish market in the Aberdeen region of Hong Kong is filled with fresh catches that you can buy, straight from the sea. Now, teams must work together to prepare them for consumption. One team member must correctly fillet two salmons and slice them out perfectly, while the second team member must deshell five pounds of crab. Once these ingredients have been prepared, teams will receive their next clue.** _

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Alright, let's do it!" Hina said, tugging on her tracksuit. They went inside as they both immediately put their fingers over their noses.

"Oh… it smells terrible in here," Chihiro said.

"_I don't know why we were so surprised," Hina said. "It's a fish market. Of course it's going to smell like fish."_

"Let's just watch this demo then," Chihiro pointed. The demonstrator on the left was working on cracking open the crab meat and pulling the meat out of the legs, whole. The demonstrator on the right was using a knife to scrape the scales off of the fish and then beginning to slice it open and fillet it.

"Which one do you wanna do?" Chihiro asked.

"I'll deal with the crabs. You do the fish." Hina replied.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We're in Hong Kong now," Kaede said. "Now what's left is to find someone who can give us directions to this market."

They parked their car and ran into a hotel.

"Hi, can you help us get to this place?" Shuichi asked.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"The only thing that I want right now is to arrive in Hong Kong and finally see some other teams," Hajime said.

"It sounds like you're upset at my failure," Chiaki replied.

"How long have you been awake? I'm not upset, but I do really want us to jump ahead today."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Okay, something's clearly not right," Leon said. "Hong Kong is definitely not a casino joint. I'm getting out to ask someone."

Leon put on his hazards and left the car to ask some American tourists.

"Hi, is this Hong Kong?" He asked. The tourists laughed.

"No, this is Macau."

"Macau?" Leon asked. "Do you know how to get to Hong Kong?"

"I would say the fastest way would be by ferry," the tourist said. "The ferry leaves every fifteen minutes and takes around an hour. But if you're driving, you have to go around the bay, which will take around two and a half hours at the least."

Leon threw his hands up in frustration. "Dammit! Thank you!"

He got back into the car with Ibuki.

"They said we can take the ferry, right? Ibuki likes that idea!"

"But we have a car," Leon replied.

"Does the clue say we actually have to drive?"

Leon checked the clue. "No, no it doesn't. It just says "Make your way".

"So Ibuki gets that we're allowed to park our cars here and just take the ferry to Hong Kong, then pick up a taxi there."

"But what if we have to drive somewhere else in Hong Kong and we end up with no car?"

"Would you rather waste an extra hour and a half driving, or waste thirty minutes for a penalty?"

"I don't want to take any kind of penalty!"

"But we don't even know if we have to drive anywhere yet. Ibuki thinks it's a good risk."

Leon sighed and put his hand on his forehead. "You're right. I think that's the only way we have a chance." Leon said. "If not… we're majorly screwed. This is our only chance to survive today."


	20. Leg 10.2

**Leg 10.2**

* * *

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki approached the ferry station. "Well, this is it," Leon said.

They entered and bought a ticket.

"Ten minutes," the receptionist said.

"Thanks," Ibuki replied. They sat down at the waiting room as Leon gripped his temples.

"I dunno about this," he said. "I don't know if we're going to be majorly screwed after."

"Look on the bright side. We'll make up some time."

"I'm not sure about that, either," Leon replied. "We're done."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina grabbed the crab out of the boiling water.

"Ow!" she shouted, throwing it on the table. "That's hot… that's boiling hot."

Meanwhile, Chihiro began cleaning the scales off of the salmon with little difficulty.

"_After we realized what we had to do, it was quite obvious that the crabs was going to be a lot more difficult than the salmon," Chihiro explained._

_Hina flailed her fingers around. "First off, the crabs that we were given were fresh out of boiling water and were singeing my fingertips. Not to mention, after we cracked it, there were bits of shell that were getting everywhere and poking me."_

Hina grabbed the crab and used the cracker to rip off the legs and open up the end.

"OW!" She shouted, dropping the leg off the table. She sighed and bent over to pick it up off the floor of the fish market."No one's eating this, right?"

Meanwhile, Chihiro began slicing the salmon once the scales were off and began cutting at the salmon's neck to separate the head from the body. He then stuck the knife on the top of the fish and began slicing down the body.

"_There was a very clear difference between the fish and the crabs," Chihiro said. "The fish was like a Boolean. It's either right, or it's not. The crabs, however, was a certain amount that you had to do and there really wasn't a way to mess up other than being slow."_

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

Shuichi and Kaede read their clue and made their way into the market.

"Crap, they're here," Hina said.

"Don't worry about them," Chihiro replied. Shuichi and Kaede made their way into their own station after watching the demo.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Looks like we've made up some time on the drive," Hajime said, looking at the two teams still there.

"Have you seen Leon and Ibuki?" Shuichi asked.

"No, I was about to ask you that!" Hajime replied. "Well… wherever they are… we want them to survive today. But that's not looking too good right now."

"They were supposed to follow us after the Roadblock, but they went missing somewhere along the road." Chihiro said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki boarded the ferry as they sat in anguish.

"Listen, Leon, we can get through this," Ibuki said. "We have nothing to do for the next hour, so let's have some fun! Follow my lead!"

"Ibuki, can you just be quiet for once?" Leon asked. "I'm not really feeling it."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

"No."

"Aww, you're such a buzzkill!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro sliced the side of the salmon off and then went along the bone to separate the other side from the spine.

"Can I get a check on the fish?" Chihiro asked. The judge walked up and held up the bone.

"No. Too much fish left on the spine," the judge said. "Redo it!"

Chihiro sighed. "This is… harder than I envisioned. How's the crab?"

"My fingers are going to bleed after this," Hina said, crushing a bit of shell underneath her fingers and wincing.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi used the knife to cut off the scales from the fish with little ease. Meanwhile, Kaede pulled out the crab and dropped it on the table after feeling how hot it was.

"Shuichi, can we switch?" Kaede asked. "I don't want to hurt my fingers. I still want to play piano after this."

"Fine," Shuichi said. He handed Kaede the knife as he began dealing with the crabs. Meanwhile, Kaede began scratching up her palm on the fish scales.

"Aah… this is just as bad…" Kaede said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Chiaki very quickly cut the fish flesh off from the bone as Hajime cracked down on the crabs.

"I do this all the time," Hajime said. "You have to work for your food! It's not just served on a silver platter!"

"Celeste would hate hearing that if she was still here," Chiaki said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I never envisioned working in a fishery," Chihiro said. "I'm still not used to the smell of fish. It's not pleasant, but at least I'm getting used to it now and it's more subtle."

"I'm used to it," Hina replied. "I eat a lotta fish. But this is wrecking my fingers. Not that it'll be better for you. I can't imagine typing something with injuries like these. It doesn't hurt too bad, but I really hope we won't have to wrap anything small or do anything nimble after this."

"You're not bleeding, are you?" Chihiro asked.

"Not yet, at least. I'm fine." Hina said. "Can I get this weighed?"

The judge grabbed the bowl of crab meat and put it on the scale in which it didn't offset the weights on the opposite side.

"Not yet," he said. "Keep going."

"This is taking forever." Hina said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"AAh!" Shuichi shouted, pulling a shell out of his fingernail. "Oww…"

Kaede was disgusted at the fish and was making faces while slicing the fish.

"Can I check this?" Kaede asked.

"It's good," The judge replied.

"Alright, thanks," Kaede said. Kaede moved onto the second fish and began scaling it, trying to avoid touching it as much as possible.

"_The scales on that fish were scraping up my hands," Kaede explained. "I have a big thing about not wanting to hurt my hands or fingers. It keeps me from playing my piano. But I guess the fish was better than the crabs, given how it looked like Shuichi was in pain."_

Shuichi stuck his finger inside of the shell, took out some meat, then immediately pulled his finger out from the heat and shook his hand, getting some crab meat on Kaede.

"Be neater with that!" she scolded.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina squealed as she sliced her thumb open.

"Oh, aahh!" she shouted. The medic came in and disinfected it and put a Mickey Mouse bandaid on it.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime poked his finger with the shell, drawing blood.

"Are you alright?" Chiaki asked.

"I'm fine," He replied, sucking on his thumb. "How are you doing with the fish?"

"I've done both and I think it's fine, but I'm not sure because I haven't checked it yet."

She called in the judge as he came in for a look.

"Redo them," he said. "Too much on the bone meat."

"Do you mean meat on the bone?" Hajime asked

"My English isn't good… don't judge me."

"You're the judge though," Hajime replied.

"Leave this fishery immediately."

"What do you think we're trying to do?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Can I get this weighed?" Shuichi asked. He picked it up and placed it on the scale, as it tipped over.

"That's good," the judge clapped. He stared at Kaede, who was still working on the fish.

"Check, please," Kaede said.

"Perfect," the judge replied, handing over their clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Detour. Heart of a Lion or Jaded Treasure?"

**[D] Heart of a Lion**

_ **Lion dancing is a traditional form of dancing in Chinese culture. During the Lion dance, people have to suit up in these two-person lion suits and dance around in a complicated procedure. It will take way too long for teams to perfect a dance from scratch, so instead, we're sending them on a journey. In "Heart of a Lion", teams must make their way to Kowloon Park and don this two-person lion dance suit. Then, they must navigate the bustling streets of Northern Hong Kong to Sai Yee Street Garden, two kilometers away. Once teams have reached the garden without taking off the suit, they will receive their next clue.** _

**[D] Jaded Treasure**

_ **The Hong Kong Jade Market is home to hundreds of shops selling beautiful jade jewelry. In "Jaded Treasure", teams must search through the three marked stands to find three marked pieces of jewelry. Then, they must exit the market and make their way through Hong Kong for three locations to deliver their jewelry. Once teams have delivered all three pieces of shimmering jade, they will return to the market for their next clue.** _

"Jaded Treasure sounds like we'll have to find different locations," Shuichi said. "Too risky. Too many things that could go wrong."

"Yeah, I agree," Kaede replied, running outside and hopping into their car.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro smoothly led his knife down the spine of the fish, hearing the noise of the knife against bone, and very smoothly allowed him to fillet it with near perfection. He repeated it for the other side.

"Can I get a check?" Chihiro asked.

"That's good," The judge replied. "Now, do the second one."

"Alright," Chihiro replied. Meanwhile, Hina put the crab meat into the bowl and placed it on the scale as it offset the other end and laid both sides into equilibrium.

"Perfect," The judge said. Hina grabbed the crab and began eating it while watching Chihiro fillet the second fish.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime put his bowl of crab meat on the scale as it offset the other side.

"Alright, we've caught up to Hina on this," Hajime said. "Nice. How are you doing with the fish?"

"I'm trying," Chiaki replied. "I dunno if I got this perfectly down."

"Oh, where are Leon and Ibuki?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki rode the ferry in silence as they stared outside.

"I'd be enjoying this view a lot more if I wasn't stressed out and about to go home later," Leon said. "I doubt we're making this up."

"Come on, Leon! You need to get pumped up! Do some headbangs with me!"

"Not in the mood right now. I just want this ride to be over so we can just get this leg over with."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Hi, do you know how to get to Kowloon Park?" Shuichi asked.

"No english," the man replied. Shuichi sighed.

"Pull over," Kaede said.

"What? Why?"

"There's an office. We can ask them."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Can we get a check?" Chihiro asked.

"That's good," the judge replied, handing over their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Detour. Heart of a Lion or Jaded Treasure?" Chihiro read.

"Heart of a Lion sounds a lot easier," Hina said. "Can you handle it?"

"I've seen those before. I don't think they're that heavy. It'll definitely be easier than finding different places, especially if they're all written in Chinese."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Check!" Hajime shouted. The judge showed up and gave them thumbs.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Detour," Hajime read. "We're doing the lions."

They ran outside and got into their cars.

"We made up a lot of time on Chihiro and Hina," Chiaki said. "They left the Roadblock maybe around half an hour before we did, and here we left maybe around five minutes after… that's good. We're not sure where Leon and Ibuki are right now, but we hope they're far, far behind. We do want them in the finale with us, but right now we definitely need to be in front of a team."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"It's up here," Kaede pointed. Shuichi parked the car and stepped outside in order to run to the park.

"Alright, we just need to look for the dragon suits," Shuichi said. They walked together, looking everywhere, and walked right past it while the lion dancers were two feet away, colors completely contrasting the park and dancing around.

"Where is it?" Kaede asked.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There's Kaede and Shuichi," Hina said. "What are they doing? The lions are right there."

"They're probably overlooking them… looking somewhere less obvious…" Chihiro said. "I don't really blame them. It's easy to miss obvious things. But we need to take this chance to leap ahead."

They ran up to the people in the lion costumes as they picked one up.

"How are we supposed to wear this?" Hina asked. Chihiro pointed to two people dancing around in the lion suit.

"One person's up front and the other has to bend over in the back." Chihiro said. "Do you want to do the front or the back?"

"I'll go in back," Hina said.

They picked up the lion dance pants and slipped them on before hoisting the lion costume on top of them.

"Oh, I can't see…" Hina said. "You're going to have to call the shots."

"I can barely see in this thing either," Chihiro replied. "I can only see straight ahead."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Oh, it's right there!" Kaede pointed. "We're stupid."

Just as Chihiro and Hina left the park, Shuichi and Kaede slipped on the pants for the lion suit.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Do you know where we're going?" Hina asked.

"Uhh…"

"Are we going to have to ask someone? We should've done that before."

"_We're just in the lion suit, and we realize… we have no idea where this street garden place is," Chihiro explained. "We tried to go up to people, but they either didn't speak English… or ran away in fear."_

"Hi, do you know-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Okay…" Chihiro said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki parked their car as they ran into a garden, different from Kowloon Park.

"Now, where are these lion suits?" Chiaki asked.

"Okay, something's not right here," Hajime said.

"_We run into the park, then we realize that this park is really small and I don't see any lion suits." Hajime explained._

"Hand me the clue," Hajime said. Chiaki forked over their clue as Hajime read it over again. "Oh… I see…"

"What?" Chiaki asked.

"This is the Street Garden. This is where we're supposed to DELIVER the lion suits."

"Oh," Chiaki replied. "I guess we have to go back to Kowloon Park. On the bright side, at least we know where this is and how to get here from the park."

**Leon and Ibuki**

The boat docked as Leon and Ibuki ran off through the ferry terminal.

"TAXI!" Leon shouted. They quickly hailed one.

"Do you know Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market?"

They got inside as it drove off.

"Hopefully they reached some kind of bunch point," Leon said. "Some kind of 'pick a number and wait until tomorrow'. Chances are… we're fucked. We are so fucked."

Ibuki for once in her life, said nothing, paying attention to the city outside.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Nathan Road?" Chihiro asked. The woman nodded.

"Hina, we have to just run down Nathan Road and make a right onto Soy Street."

"Those words mean absolutely nothing to me," Hina said. "Remember, I'm the one bent over in the back with zero visibility. You just need to run at a consistent pace and make sure to let me know if we have to stop or make a sharp turn."

"Okay, got it."

Right after that, Chihiro tripped over a random rock on the ground as Hina collapsed on top of him.

"Augh… you okay?" Hina asked.

"I'm *sniff* I'm fine."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think they just fell," Shuichi said, approaching the heap that was Chihiro and Hina fumbling underneath the fallen costume. "We can pass them."

Then, Shuichi tripped over the rock and fell on top of Chihiro and Hina.

"Get off me!" Hina shouted.

"Get your butt out of my face!" Kaede screamed.

"You're the ones who fell over us!" Hina argued.

They stopped talking as they tried to stand up and dust themselves off.

"Sorry," Kaede said. She and Shuichi steadied themselves before running off, leaving Chihiro and Hina behind.

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted.

"Sorry, we want another first place today!" Shuichi shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, the lions are over here," Chiaki pointed. They ran to the suits and slipped on the pants.

"There are two lions left," Hajime said. "That means that two teams are in front of us. We're sure that Leon and Ibuki are behind us somewhere, we don't know how far behind they are, but it looks like everyone is doing this Detour."

They picked up the lion suit with Hajime in front and Chiaki behind.

"This is going to be killer on my back," Chiaki said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Fish market…" Leon said. "Is this the way to the fish market?"

The driver said nothing.

"We have a driver that doesn't speak English," Ibuki said. "That's no bueno."

"This doesn't look like you're bringing us to a wharf… in fact it looks like you're taking us away from the water…"

"Ibuki thinks we should trust him."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"My back is hurting," Kaede said.

"I can't do anything about that," Shuichi replied. "Sorry."

"_Running in that suit was a complete nightmare," Kaede explained. "For me, I had to hunch my back and bend over, it was hot and that costume was like an oven, I couldn't see anything, and I was subject to Shuichi's pace."_

"_I was still tired from the Roadblock," Shuichi said. "My arms and legs were still burning, and it really was torture for me. But I knew that we wanted another win in this competition, and those don't come by sitting around and relaxing."_

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"You okay back there?" Hajime asked.

"I'm fine," Chiaki replied. "We have directions. We can just run."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Up here's fine," Leon said. The cab driver stopped as they paid and they ran up to the clue box at the fish market.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Deshell some seafood," Ibuki read. They entered the market to see that no one was there.

"Dammit…" Leon said. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

They watched the demo with uninterested faces.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro stopped at a traffic light as Hina almost rammed him into traffic.

"Oomph…"

"Chihiro, you need to tell me when you're stopping!"

"Sorry… don't yell at me…"

"I'm no- I'm just trying to let you know so we avoid another accident."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We just made the traffic light, so we've got some separation between us and Chihiro and Hina," Shuichi said. "Hopefully we can just keep that stride for the rest of the run. Soy Street is up there, we need to turn soon, Kaede."

"Got it," Kaede replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There's a lot of people in our way," Chihiro said.

"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!" Hina shouted, making the people split apart and making a path for them.

"Wow… okay…"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hajime, can we take a rest?" Chiaki asked. "I'm really tired."

"I get it, but I don't think we can afford a rest right now. If we power through this, we can get to the Pit Stop fast and take a rest there."

"Aww… I'm so tired"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think that's the garden… yeah." Shuichi said. "It's Race tagged."

They entered the garden as they took off the suit. "Who do we go to?"

A man came up to them and handed over their clue.

They thanked him as they took off the lion dance pants and ripped the clue open.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Find the man known as Lee Jun-Fan," Shuichi read.

**[i] Proceed to: Bruce Lee Statue**

_ **Teams must now realize that the person known as Lee Jun-Fan in Chinese is known worldwide as Bruce Lee. They must now visit this statue commemorating his life and works to receive their next clue.** _

"I guess we're finding some kind of person right now," Shuichi said. "I don't know what to do. There's no location on here, no other hints other than Lee Jun-Fan, there are like eight million people in this city."

"It's not going to be a random person," Kaede said. "It has to be someone significant. Like the governor or someone who just lingers around one place."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Up there," Chihiro said. They ran into the garden as they took off the suit and received their clue.

"Thanks," Hina replied, panting. They ripped open the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Alright, we're finding some Chinese guy," Chihiro said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Check?" Leon asked. The judge walked up to their seafood as he nodded and handed them a clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"Wooo!" Ibuki shouted. "We got done with that mega-quick!"

"Hopefully we can get done with the rest of this mega-quick." Leon replied. "Detour."

"Ibuki thinks we can do the jade."

"Alright… no objections…"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Do you just want to get a cab and ask him?" Shuichi asked.

"Does our clue say we have to drive?"

"No, it just says find that person."

"Alright, I think that's a wonderful idea in that case."

They hailed a cab and got inside just as Chihiro and Hina ran out of the street garden.

"Sir, do you know who Lee Jun-Fan is?" Kaede asked.

"I have google," he replied.

"Fine. That's alright," Shuichi said. He typed on his phone. "It's showing me Bruce Lee,"

"Bruce Lee's dead though," Shuichi said. "Is there some kind of residence, or some kind of grave or tomb or something?"

"There's a statue on Chatham Road."

"Take us there. That has to be it," Shuichi replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Sir," Chihiro said. "Do you know who Lee Jun-Fan is?"

He shook his head and continued walking.

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted. "Why does no one know who this is?"

"We should find some kind of hotel or internet cafe," Chihiro explained. "Maybe a quick google search will do us good."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki took off the suit as they received their clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Thanks," Hajime said.

"Oh, I'm so exhausted," Chiaki said. Hajime wasted no time and picked her up by the waist and carried her out of the garden.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Can we come behind the counter?" Chihiro asked, talking to a hotel receptionist.

"Just this once," she replied. They came behind the counter and began using the computer.

"Bruce Lee?" Chihiro asked. "That sounds right… but it looks like he's dead."

"There's a statue not too far from here," the receptionist said. Chihiro looked it up and got directions.

"Alright, thanks!" Chihiro replied. "That sounds just about right."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede sat in their cab as they pulled up to the statue.

"There's a clue box right there," Shuichi pointed. They got out and ran to the box.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Shuichi read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Victoria Peak**

_ **Teams must now make their way to Victoria Peak, the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here at the mat may be eliminated.** _

"Alright, we're headed to the Pit Stop!" Kaede shouted. They ran back to their cab.

"Victoria Peak," Shuichi said. The driver went off as they sat in the back of the cab, panting and drenched in sweat.

"We can get another first place today," Shuichi said. "We need this… to prove ourselves a better team that Hajime and Chiaki…"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

Chihiro and Hina opened their clue at the statue.

"Alright, we can make up the time we lost to Shuichi and Kaede if we rush," Hina said, hopping back into the cab.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It looks like Bruce Lee," Hajime said. "Okay… our first destination is the Bruce Lee statue… if not we'll have to do some more research,"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Looks like that's the jade market… yeah, it's marked…" Leon said. "Here would be good."

The driver didn't slow down or stop.

"Let us out." Leon shouted. No response.

"Dude," Ibuki said. "You passed it!"

"Dumbass!" Leon shouted. "No! Let us out! Turn around!"

* * *

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"I think I see the peak," Kaede said. "It's really a beautiful hill."

Shuichi had a mouthful of water and swallowed it. "Hopefully that's the right hill."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hopefully all of these green lights are foreshadowing great things for us… maybe a first in the competition today." Chihiro explained.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Up here?" Shuichi asked. The driver nodded as they stepped outside and brought their stuff out of the back.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Alright, we can do this," Chihiro said, grabbing his bag and breaking into a sprint for the busier sections of the peak.

* * *

Monokuma waited at the Pit Stop as Shuichi and Kaede came running onto the mat.

"Shuichi and Kaede," Monokuma said.

"Yeah?" Shuichi asked.

"You're exhausted."

"No duh," Kaede replied. "This was a very physical leg and I want nothing more but to take a nice rest."

"Well, all that work paid off. You are team number ONE!"

**Shuichi and Kaede: 1st Place**

"Yeah!" Kaede shouted, fist in the air.

"Looks like we've got another team coming in soon," Monokuma said, leading to Chihiro and Hina running in.

"Chihiro and Hina, you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted. "That's five in a row."

"Really?" Chihiro nervously asked.

"You have to step up your game if you want a first place," Monokuma replied. "Now, you get to see what Shuichi and Kaede have won."

"Fine, get it over with," Hina said.

"You have won a trip for two to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which you can enjoy after the race is over."

"Thank you," Shuichi replied. "That sounds great."

* * *

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki threw the money at their driver as they stepped outside.

"Stupid cabbie," Leon said. They ran back to the jade market and ran inside.

"We need to find three pieces of jewelry from three stands," Ibuki said. "These stands are massive."

"Yeah, there's a lot, but we only need to find them from the marked stands up here," Leon pointed.

"Those stands are still massive!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran to the statue to retrieve their clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to your next Pit Stop," Hajime read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki dug through the stands.

"Oh, I've got one!" Ibuki shouted, pulling a necklace around her neck.

"Great job," Leon said. "I found one too. We just need one more."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Hopefully we make it," Hajime said. "We're certain that the other two teams have already gotten far ahead of us, but we're resting on Leon and Ibuki completing the detour slowly."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Got the last one!" Ibuki held up.

"Alright, great," Leon replied. They ran over to the board that displayed the destinations they had to deliver them to, Ibuki quickly writing them down.

* * *

"There's Monokuma on the mat!" Chiaki shouted, running to the Pit Stop.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "Tough day?"

"This was the most physically taxing leg so far," Hajime said.

"What position do you think you're in?"

"Hopefully three." Chiaki said. "But we're not going to bet on it."

"You _are _team number three."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 3rd Place**

"Oh, thank god," Chiaki said, dropping to her knees in relief.

* * *

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki sat in the cab, stopping at an office building and dropping off the last piece of jade. Then, they made their way back to the jade market to retrieve their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"I have a bad feeling right now," Ibuki said. "Ibuki doesn't like it."

"I've had a bad feeling from the start," Leon said. Their cab drove across the bridge and up to Victoria peak, where they walked with little enthusiasm to the Pit Stop mat.

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "Rough day?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Leon said. "Stupid nagivational error. We got through the tasks quickly too."

"We know we're in last," Ibuki said.

"I'm sorry to say that you are the last team to arrive." Monokuma said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Last Place**

"Yeah, just tell us," Leon said. "Fourth place out of eleven ain't bad."

"I'll tell you," Monokuma said. "I'll tell you that you are still racing."

"What?" Ibuki asked. Leon's face morphed from disappointment to excitement and relief.

"You are still in this race, and the next leg begins right now. I have your next clue right here," Monokuma said, handing over a clue. "Rip and read it right now."

Leon tore the envelope to shreds and opened the clue inside.

"Fly to Seoul, South Korea," Leon read.

"You should leave right now if you want to make the same flight as the others," Monokuma said.

Leon took Ibuki's hand as they ran back to the street. "We're still in this!"

"You have a second chance," Monokuma shouted. "Don't waste it!"

_"This is great," Leon said. "the Race Gods have given us another chance. We have to redeem ourselves. For the sake of our race"_

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Shuichi and Kaede

2nd: Chihiro and Hina

3rd: Hajime and Chiaki

4th: Leon and Ibuki (Non-Elimination)

**Race Average:**

Shuichi and Kaede: 2.30

Hajime and Chiaki: 3.50

Chihiro and Hina: 4.00

Leon and Ibuki: 5.00

_Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.56_

_Makoto and Sayaka: 4.00_

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Shuichi 6, Kaede 5

Chihiro 5, Hina 6

Hajime 6, Ibuki 5

Leon 6, Ibuki 5

_Nagito 5, Nekomaru 5_

_Makoto 5, Sayaka 4_

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

The final four game on in the penultimate leg in South Korea for a spot in the Final Three.

_*Chiaki playing a game of Smash Bros in a huge stadium*_

"_Come on! I'll ink you to oblivion!"_

Who will make it to the finals?

_*Leon and Ibuki watching a K-pop performance,*_

Who will fall short?

_*Hina pulling some octopus out of her mouth at a restaurant after choking*_

_*Hajime looking devastated in a cab*_

And who will be eliminated next?

"_This is it. This decides the finals right here. Could possibly decide whether we win the race, or lose it." Kaede explained._

* * *

**__Only four teams remain, and there are two legs left. One team has to go home on the next leg. Who do you think gets eliminated next? Who will make the final three? Who will win it all? Let me know your hopes and predictions! Please! it makes me happy when people actually comment on things like this.**


	21. Leg 11.1

**Leg 11.1**

* * *

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

The final four raced from Phuket, Thailand, to Southeast China. At the Roadblock in Guangzhou, Chiaki fell behind.

_"It's good," The judge said, handing Hina the clue. Chiaki looked up in pain._

"_This isn't an ox… it's a cow…"_

On the way to Hong Kong, Leon and Ibuki made a huge mistake.

_"Hi, is this Hong Kong?" He asked. The tourists laughed._

_"No, this is Macau."_

At the Detour in Hong Kong, Shuichi and Kaede worked enough to outspeed Chihiro and Hina for a fourth first-place finish.

"_You are team number ONE!" Monokuma shouted._

Which also doomed Chihiro and Hina to their fifth second-place finish in a row.

"_Oh, come on!" Hina shouted. "That's five in a row."_

_"Really?" Chihiro nervously asked._

However, the setback by travelling to Macau was too much for Leon and Ibuki to make up.

"_I am sorry to say that you are the last team to arrive," Monokuma said._

But they were given a lucky break.

"_You're still racing," Monokuma said._

Four teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

* * *

**Hong Kong**

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"You are team number ONE!" Monokuma said.

"Yeah," Kaede shouted, fist in the air.

"Looks like we've got another team coming in soon," Monokuma said, leading to Chihiro and Hina running in.

"Chihiro and Hina, you are team number two."

**Chihiro and Hina: 2nd Place**

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted. "That's five in a row."

"Really?" Chihiro nervously asked.

"You have to step up your game if you want a first place," Monokuma replied. "Now, you get to see what Shuichi and Kaede have won."

"Fine, get it over with," Hina said.

"You have won a trip for two to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which you can enjoy after the race is over."

"Thank you," Shuichi replied. "That sounds great."

"However," Monokuma said. Both teams looked up at him. "The next leg begins right now. Here's your next clue."

"You're joking." Shuichi said. "I was looking forwards to a rest! This leg was so exhausting!"

"I'm not joking, and you better rip and read it if you don't want the others to catch up.

Shuichi, Kaede, and Chihiro sighed as they opened their clues.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Fly to Seoul, South Korea!" Chihiro read.

"Seoul, South Korea!" Kaede shouted.

**[i] Fly to: Seoul, South Korea**

_ **Teams must now fly to Seoul, South Korea. Once teams arrive, they must make their way to the National Theater of Korea and search for their next clue.** _

Shuichi and Kaede raced back to their cabs and got inside.

"No rest today," Shuichi said, "Which sucks. As much as I'm hoping we jet off immediately to leave behind Hajime and Chiaki and Leon and Ibuki, I want just as much to have a nice rest before our flight."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"This is it," Chihiro said. "The day we finally get a win. We have to do it today."

"I wouldn't mind if we got second today and got first in the finale." Hina said.

"Maybe we could do both," Chihiro replied. "Get first both today and tomorrow."

"I doubt it, but I guess that's a great goal," Hina said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"You _are_ team number three," Monokuma said.

Chiaki fell to her knees in relief. "Oh, thank god."

"But there is some bad news," Monokuma said. Both Hajime and Chiaki looked up. "You're still racing."

He handed over their clue.

"Oh, fuck," Hajime said. "Fly to Seoul, South Korea,"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede pulled up to the Hong Kong airport.

"Hi, we need a flight to Seoul, as fast as possible," Shuichi said.

"There's a flight that gets you in at 6:00 AM," the agent said.

"Are you sure that's the earliest flight?"

"Any earlier ones are full."

"Alright, book it," Kaede said.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in Last Place**

"You are the last team to arrive," Monokuma said.

"Yeah, just tell us, fourth place out of eleven ain't bad," Leon said.

"I'll tell you," Monokuma said. "I'll tell you that you are still racing."

"What?" Ibuki asked. Leon's face morphed from disappointment to excitement and relief.

"You are still in this race, and the next leg begins right now. I have your next clue right here," Monokuma said, handing over a clue. "Rip and read it right now."

Leon tore the envelope to shreds and opened the clue inside.

"Fly to Seoul, South Korea," Leon read.

"You should leave right now if you want to make the same flight as the others," Monokuma said.

Leon took Ibuki's hand as they ran back to the street. "We're still in this!"

"You have a second chance," Monokuma shouted. "Don't waste it!"

"We have another chance," Leon said, panting. "I didn't expect that."

"We have Nagito levels of luck right now," Ibuki said. "Hopefully we can carry that luck with us into the final three."

* * *

**Hong Kong International Airport**

Leon and Ibuki walked into the terminal after purchasing their tickets.

"Oh my god!" Kaede said, walking to them and giving them huge hugs.

"We're baaaaack!" Ibuki screamed.

"What happened yesterday?" Chiaki asked. "We didn't see you all day."

"We… we accidentally drove to Macau." Leon explained. Shuichi erupted in laughter. "What?"

"Nothing, I made a joke yesterday about you guys accidentally driving to Macau. I didn't think it would actually happen." Shuichi replied. Kaede also erupted in laughter.

"Oh, yeah, laugh. We'll be the ones laughing when we're on the Finish line with the hundred million in our hands." Leon said.

"Ouch," Shuichi said. "I thought we were friends."

"One team is gonna win. It's gonna be us," Ibuki said.

"Wow, I've never heard Ibuki sound so competitive!" Chiaki said.

"It's all or nothing at this point," Hina said. "Of course we'll be competitive at this stage. It's the last leg before the finale."

"Well in that case, we're going all out," Hajime said. "No mercy."

* * *

**Incheon International Airport: 6:00 AM**

The airplane door opened as the four teams ran outside.

"GO GO GO!" Hajime shouted. "Any lead counts!"

The teams reached the cabs as they all stepped inside.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"National Theater of Korea," Chihiro read. "Do you know?"

He replied something in Korean.

"It's a Korean name. Hopefully he knows," Hina said, as the cab pulled out.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We lucked out yesterday," Leon said. "We got last by a few hours, and we're still in this. How insane is that?"

"That is sooooo dope!" Ibuki shouted, punching the roof of the car.

"Don't do that please," the driver replied. Ibuki laughed.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We have a 25% chance of winning this whole thing," Hajime said. "I like our odds…"

"Someone has to go home today, though," Chiaki said. "And it's not going to be us. We need to get out Shuichi and Kaede if we want to double our chances of winning."

"Leon and Ibuki are definitely the elephant in the room," Hajime said. "They're the weakest team, we don't even know how they survived this far but we're not complaining."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We need to eliminate Hajime and Chiaki tonight so we can have some smooth sailing straight to the finish line," Kaede explained. "We want to bring in the other two teams, as neither of them have won a leg."

"It is true that Chihiro and Hina are establishing themselves as a strong team, they had five second places in a row so far, but if they want to go into the finals and get second there too, fine by me." Shuichi said. "I'm more worried about Hajime and Chiaki. I think they're the biggest threat to us in this competition."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We have an awesome cab driver today," Chihiro said. "Say hi, Jeong!"

"Hi!" the driver replied.

"He speaks fluent English, he understands we're in a race, he's amazing." Hina said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Up there!" Shuichi pointed. They got out of their cab and ran up to the clue box.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

"Get ready to K-Pop it up." Kaede read.

_ **K-Pop, short for Korean Pop, is a genre of music that originated here in Korea, and has rapidly spread worldwide to the Americas, China, and of course, Japan.** _

**[i] K-Pop It Up**

_ **In this challenge, teams must watch this seven-minute K-pop performance and watch for several Korean syllable blocks appearing on the back screen. Once teams have finished the performance, they must make their way to a room on the opposite end of the theater where they must use these post-it notes with various Korean syllable blocks to put the words in the order they appeared on the screen. Once they have the words perfectly formed (** _ _ **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다** _ _ **), they will receive their next clue. However, if teams take three minutes or longer without spelling it out correctly, they will be forced to go back to the theater for the next performance.** _

"Alright, let's do this!" Kaede said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Looks like they just arrived," Chihiro said. "We could pass them."

"I think it's a challenge," Hina said. They ran up to the clue box and ripped open their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"That sounds… actually, that sounds fine," Hina said. "At least it's not a Roadblock and we can actually work together."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Oh, K-Pop!" Ibuki squealed. "Ibuki loves K-Pop!"

"Sayaka would love this if she were still here." Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Uhh… here?" Hajime asked. The driver nodded. "You were supposed to take us to a theater."

The driver nodded and muttered something in Korean.

"This is clearly not a theater. It looks like a park," Chiaki said.

"Let's just get out of here. He doesn't speak English." Hajime said, grabbing their stuff and getting out of the cab.

"Hajime, I think we should stay," Chiaki said. "We don't know how difficult it is to get cabs around this area. It looks like we're far from the main section of the city."

"How do you know?"

"It looks like it's the suburbs over here," Chiaki said. "I think we should just stay with him until we get back into the city."

"I say we get out."

"Haj-"

"If he's taken us here, what's to say that he can't take us further from where we're supposed to be?"

"We can tell him-"

"He doesn't speak English!"

**Shuichi and Kaede, Chihiro and Hina, Leon and Ibuki**

The three teams sat down at the theater as the lights dimmed.

"We're not allowed to take notes, right?" Chihiro asked.

"Nope," Hina replied.

Kaede looked up at the stage. "How many words are we supposed to remember?"

Shuichi flipped open their clue. "It doesn't say."

"Great. Just great," Leon said. The performance started as six boys came onto the stage with microphones.

Shuichi leaned to Kaede. "You remember the odd ones, I'll remember the even ones."

"I really don't want to watch this," Hina said. They began signing as words began to flash on the back and they tried to get them down.

**한**

"Alright," Shuichi said, making a mental note.

**국**

"Okay… two guns and a stick," Ibuki muttered.

**에**

"This is a little fast," Leon said.

**오**

"Oh my god," Chihiro said.

**신**

"Jeez, stop!" Leon shouted.

**것**

"Yeah, we're gonna have to come back," Kaede said.

**을**

"Jesus Christ," Hina said.

**환**

"That's a lotta shit!"

**영**

"Okay, I give up."

**합**

"Still more?"

**니**

"Okay… you win."

**다**

"Is that it?" Shuichi asked. The theater lit back up as the three teams raced out and to another room on the opposite end of the theater. There, the team names were plastered on four rooms.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede entered a room with similar Korean syllable blocks plastered against a wall. "These are really similar," Kaede said.

"Looks like we can come back and forth as many times as we want," Shuichi said. "We're gonna need it. What do you remember?"

"The first one was like this," Kaede said. She picked up the letter blocks and put down 한.

"And the next one was this one…" Shuichi replied, placing down 국. "That's about all I've got. You?"

"Yeah, Kaede replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki entered their room. "Oh, god," Leon said.

"_The chunks we were given to work with were really similar," Leon explained. "Like, there was the correct word, but then there was also a similar word with the only thing different being an extra line, or one of the letters was facing the wrong way, it was really picky."_

Leon and Ibuki tore down a few post it notes and placed it on the opposite wall.

**Leon and Ibuki: ** **한국**

"That's about all I know," Leon said.

"Me too," Ibuki replied. "This is, like, hard."

**Chihiro and Hina: ** **한국에오**

"We've got the first four, we think," Chihiro said. "We don't know if this is completely correct, but it's all we have to go off of."

Chihiro and Hina left their room as they ran back down to the main theater to sit down for another performance, right next to the other two teams.

"This is hard," Chihiro mouthed. Ibuki nodded.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I still stand by my decision. I think we should leave." Hajime said.

"No, Hajime," Chiaki said. "We're going to be stuck with no cab!"

"But if we stay in here, we'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a cab that doesn't know where he's going!"

"We can find someone to translate for us."

"I don't see anyone around us!"

"Fine. Fine. Let's just leave."

Chiaki got out of the cab as Hajime slammed the door. It drove off as they began running along the sidewalk.

"See! No cabs! No people out here!"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

The performance ended as the teams ran back to the rooms.

"Alright, these two are definitely correct," Shuichi said. "The third one was this, I think,"

He grabbed the paper that said 에.

"The next was the circle with a horizontal line," Kaede said, handing Shuichi the word 오.

**Chihiro and Hina: ** **한국에 오신 겻**

"We're getting through this fast," Chihiro said. "We don't know how fast the other teams are taking, though."

"We don't know how accurate this is, either." Hina said. "Don't count our chickens before they hatch. At least we really know that the other teams are still here."

**Leon and Ibuki: ** **한국에 요**

"What's the next one?" Leon asked.

"I think it's this," Ibuki replied, holding up 씬.

"Seems right enough," Leon said.

*DING DONG DONG DING*

"The performance will begin again. Please return to the theater."

"Dammit," Leon said.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"No one's left yet, huh?" Shuichi asked, watching the two teams walk in. "Damn, this is a hard challenge."

"Where are Hajime and Chiaki?" Leon asked.

"We don't know… hopefully they're lost somewhere out in the city." Kaede replied. "We need them to go home today."

"I second that," Leon replied. "They're a powerhouse."

"_Leon was talking about how Hajime and Chiaki were powerhouses and they needed to leave," Hina explained. "Uhh… you're talking to literally the only team stronger than they are. We'd be more comfortable having Hajime and Chiaki into the finale than we would with Shuichi and Kaede."_

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"See! No cabs!" Chiaki said.

"It's fine, we'll just walk back to the city until we find one."

"If we had sticked with the cab we could've sent some kind of message that tells him that we wanted to turn around!"

"It's done and over with! What do you want?"

"I wanted to stay in the cab."

"Well there's nothing we can do about it now, can we?"

"Yeah, but this is literally the worst case scenario. We're outside, no cabs, we know for sure there's an elimination coming up, and it's right before the finale. To go home today is just ridiculous!"

"_Chiaki kind of lost her cool today," Hajime said. "I don't blame her. In hindsight, staying in the cab was probably the better option. But once he left, there was literally nothing to do about it."_

"How can this be any worse?" Chiaki asked. Then, thunder rumbled atop of them as raindrops began to splatter against their faces.

"That. That's how."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We have our word we think," Chihiro said. The judge walked over to the words.

**1st Check: ** **한국에 오신 겻을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

The judge walked up and shook his head and shook his hands away.

"No?" Chihiro asked.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"And, that one!" Shuichi said, pasting up the last character. "Check!"

**1st Check: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

The judge nodded and handed over a clue.

"Yay!" Kaede cheered. They ripped it open and read it.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

**[i] Proceed to: Myeong-Dong**

_ **Teams must now make their way via subway to the flashy neighborhood of Myeong-Dong, where they will find their next clue in front of this restaurant.** _

"Alright, let's go!" Shuichi shouted, prompting Kaede to run after him.

They bursted outside as Shuichi used his hand and clue to block his face from the rain.

"Wow, that's a sudden downpour," Shuichi said. They ran across the street to encounter a pedestrian.

"Hi, do you speak English?"

"Yes, what do you want?"

"What's the nearest subway station?"

"Dongguk University, ten minutes that way."

"Thanks," Kaede replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Can we get a check, please?" Ibuki asked.

**1st Check: ** **한국에 요씬것을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

"No," the judge said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"This is the only one I'm not sure about," Chihiro said, pointing to 겻.

"What do you mean?" Hina asked.

"I'm not sure… I think this double line here seems a bit unnatural."

"Do you want to swap it out with the single notch?"

"Yeah," Chihiro replied. They went over to the wall and swapped out 겻 for 것.

"Check?" Hina asked. The judge nodded and handed the clue over.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way by subway," Chihiro read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Can we get a che-"

*DING DONG DONG DING*

"The next performance will begin. Please return to the theater."

"Can we get a check?" Ibuki asked. The judge shook his head and pointed to the door.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede entered the train.

"Chihiro and Hina are right on our tails," Shuichi said. "Hopefully they'll make it just late enough for them to miss this train."

They looked out as Chihiro and Hina came running to the train, but it closed in their face as they smashed against the glass.

"This is making me real concerned," Kaede said. "To be using the subway in another country. Very high chance we'll get lost."

"Don't think about it too much," Shuichi replied. "I did my research. We'll be fine."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Taxi!" Hajime shouted. The lone taxi pulled over as they got inside. "National Theater of Korea,"

The taxi nodded and turned around back to the city.

"This guy seems like he knows where he's going," Hajime explained. "Hopefully he gets us there fast, because we lost at least half an hour."

Chiaki sat silent.

"Chiaki," Hajime said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. It was the heat of the moment. I'm sorry too. All we can hope for is that someone is struggling severely right now."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Missed it by seconds," Hina said. "Damn. Fate dooms us to always be in second place, huh?"

"Yeah," Chihiro replied. "Definitely disappointing. The next train comes in a few minutes, though, so at least it's not that long of a wait."

**Leon and Ibuki**

After the performance, Leon and Ibuki got up and raced to the back room.

"That settles it," Leon said. "Both of them already left,"

"We still don't know where the gamers are, though," Ibuki said. "We have hope."

"I'm still stressed," he replied. They looked at their words. "Can we get a check?"

**2nd Check: ** **한국에 요신것을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

The judge shook his head.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina idled while waiting at the station. They looked up at the clock and at their clue.

"This is stupid," Hina said. Finally, they saw the headlights of the subway car and noise as it approached the station. They hopped in and very quickly swooped in to grab a seat.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede ran out of the train and back above ground. "It should be around here somewhere," He said, running right past the clue box.

"Shuichi!" Kaede shouted. "It's right here!"

"Oh, how did I miss that?"

They opened the box and pulled out the clue within.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

**[i] Eat A Local Delicacy**

_ **Now that teams are in South Korea, it's time to eat a local delicacy known as sannakji. Once both team members have polished off one plate each, along with the side dishes, the waiter will hand over their next clue.** _

"Warning: chew it carefully." Shuichi read. "Choking and dying of asphyxiation will result in your elimination."

"Wow… sounds fun…" Kaede replied. "What is this sannakji anyways?"

They went inside the restaurant and sat down at a table.

"_We sit down, and there's this normal ambiance as it feels like a regular restaurant, and on the table there's some kimchi and broccoli and bean sprouts and other normal looking food as a side dish, so I felt pretty good about it." Kaede explained._

Their heads turned towards the kitchen as they heard the noise of a cleaver smashing against a cutting board. Soon, the waiter came out with two dishes.

"Alright, let's eat," Shuichi said. "I haven't eaten since the flight from Thailand."

The waiter bent over and delivered the two dishes, made of raw octopus, freshly chopped, still moving.

"Oh my god," Kaede said. "Ulaaghhe"

She took out one of the chopsticks and poked at it as the tentacles squirmed.

"W… how…" Shuichi muttered. "I've been to several crime scenes and I've never seen anything like this."

They prodded at the moving dismembered octopus as Shuichi finally worked up the courage to stick a chunk in his mouth.

"_The octopus really didn't have that much flavor, but it was really difficult to eat as it got stuck all over my teeth and gums," he explained._

Shuichi stuck his finger in his mouth to try and dislodge the chunk of octopus from his teeth.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"How about now?" Leon asked, setting up the words.

**4th Check: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

The judge gave Ibuki the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Oh, god that was awful," Leon said, darting to the subway station.

"Ibuki thinks we should be careful in the subway," Ibuki said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina walked into the restaurant as Shuichi and Kaede were gagging.

"Hi, welcome to hell," Shuichi said.

"What is that?" Chihiro asked, looking over at their dishes. His face turned as white as a sheet of paper.

"What?" Hina asked. "Eww! What is that? Why is it moving?"

The waiter handed them the plates of sannakji as they sat there, frozen.

"Uhh," Chihiro said, staring.

"_It was chopped up and moving," Chihiro said. "That's something you'd see in a horror movie."_

Hina finally sucked up the courage to put a few chunks in her mouth as the suction cups stuck to her teeth. She reached into her mouth to pull it out. "Ugh."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki got onto their subway train as they held onto the handholds.

"We haven't seen Hajime and Chiaki since the airport," Leon said. "Hopefully they're far, far behind, but we can't bet on anything right now."

"Ibuki feels safe," she said. "But she doesn't know if that will last."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, this is not a theater!" Hajime said.

"It could be inside," Chiaki said.

"That's not a theater! That's clearly a government building or a massive library or something."

"Well, it's the 'National' theater, so it could be government run. We don't even know if it's a literal theater or not. It's worth a look."

They got out and told their cab to wait as they ran for the front of the theater, where the clue box awaited.

"See, what did I tell you?" Chiaki said. Hajime said nothing as he ripped the clue open.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"K-pop… okay… we just need to smoke this and get back into the game." Hajime said.

"_When we open the clue box, there's only one remaining, meaning that the other teams have already been here and no one else got as lost as we did, which was… disheartening," Chiaki explained._

"_It felt worse when we walked into the theater and there was no one still at the challenge. The other teams have all come and gone." Hajime said._

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Dunk it in the sesame oil," Shuichi said. "It'll help prevent it from getting stuck to your teeth,"

Shuichi completely doused a spoonful of octopus in oil and put it in his mouth as he crunched it with his teeth.

"Kaede, you've barely touched it!"

"I can't!"

"I don't like this either, but you have to do it."

Kaede sighed and continued prodding at it. Shuichi picked up his spoon and collected some of the octopus from Kaede's plate.

"What are yo-"

"Here comes the airplane."

He shoved the spoon and its contents in her mouth as he then set the spoon onto the table while watching her to make sure she didn't spit it out.

"It's sticking," she said between breaths. Shucihi took a bottle of sesame oil and squirted it into her mouth.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We're definitely catching up to them," Hina said, comparing her and Chihiro's plates, which were half empty, to Shuichi and Kaede's mostly full plates. Then, Chihiro began choking.

"Oh," Hina said. She tried to give him the heimlich maneuver, but nothing happened. Chihiro ended up reaching into his mouth and pulling the tentacle out of his throat.

"Shuichi, Kaede, do you still have that Express Pass?" Chihiro asked. They laughed.

"Maybe you should use my tactic," Hina said. "I'm eating the octopus with the sides so it gives it more texture and makes it easier to get down."

Then, she put some broccoli and octopus on her spoon. "See? Then just douse it with oil to keep it from sticking."

"That's a good tactic," Chihiro said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, that's a lot of words to remember," Chiaki said. "I think I've got down the first three."

"And I have the three after that," Hajime replied. "Come on, let's do this."

They ran down to the other room and arranged the notes so 한국에 오신 것 displayed.

"Let's wait till the next performance," Chiaki said. "So we have the letters fresh in our minds."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"What's going on here?" Leon asked, entering the restaurant.

"Pain and agony," Chihiro replied.

"Sweet!" Ibuki shouted. They got seated as the waiter brought out the octopus.

"What the fuck is this? Did you forget to kill it first?"

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi took a swig of tea to get it down. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to eat,"

Kaede gagged while picking up another chunk of octopus. "I don't want to do this anymore."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Just a few more and we're done," Chihiro said.

Hina picked up the last of the octopus on her plate. "Done."

"Why is it always us with the gross food challenges?" Chihiro asked, eating the last of the octopus. "I'm done."

The waiter came up and looked at the empty plates and the empty side dishes. He handed them their clue.

"Great, we passed them," Chihiro said, opening the clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Ogn E-Stadium and search for your next clue," Chihiro read. They ran outside and very quickly hailed a cab.

"E-stadium?" Chihiro asked. "Like, E-sports?"

"What's that?" Hina asked.

"It's video game competitions," Chihiro replied. "Chiaki's going to have an upper edge if it's a challenge, which is a high chance,"

"Damn it," Hina said. "We just have to hope they got lost somewhere. At least we made good time passing Shuichi and Kaede. Hi-five!"

They hi-fived each other, then hi-fived their driver.

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"We're done with the octopus," Kaede said between breaths. "We're polishing off these side plates now, which are honestly really good, but we have to go as fast as we can."

"Done!" Shuichi said. The waiter gave them their clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Ogn E-Stadium and search for your next clue," Kaede read.

"E-stadium? What the hell's an E-stadium?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon took a huge mouthful and began choking as he pulled it out of his throat. "Gah, this is pointless!"

"Come on, Leon, we have a lot done." Ibuki said, pressing her fingers together. "We can get through this before Hajime and Chiaki show up."

Then, Ibuki drank some sesame oil straight from the bottle.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

After the third performance, Hajime and Chiaki ran back to the room to finish up on the word.

"Can we get a check please?" Hajime asked.

**1st Check: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

**Correct: ** **한국에 오신 것을 환영합니다**

The judge nodded and gave them their clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"We need to make up as much time as we can," Hajime said, running outside onto the street and back into their taxi.

"Myeong-Dong," Chiaki said. "As fast as you're legally allowed to go without getting a ticket. We're in a huge race."

"Hundred million yen," Hajime clarified. "Almost a zillion won."

The driver looked confused, but ignored it.

"We can do this. We can make it. Trust me." Chiaki said.

* * *

**I am proud to celebrate that my work is officially longer than Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (At least with how FFN calculates word count. Ao3 is probably a little less but it's still really close. For Ao3, I'll hit it next chapter) That's not really important, just something random I wanted to say. Anyways, we're nearing the finale. Next chapter is the last normal leg, the last elimination, and the last you'll see of a non-Japan country. Please leave a review as it means a lot to me.**


	22. Leg 11.2

**Leg 11.2**

* * *

**Leon and Ibuki**

"This is appalling," Leon said, staring at the squirming octopus.

"I think it's pretty cool!" Ibuki replied, wolfing down the octopus. Then, she began choking on it before reaching into the back of her throat and pulling out a long strand.

"Do you take that back now?"

"Nope!" She took the chunk she pulled out of her throat and threw it back into her mouth, only for her to begin choking again.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think Shuichi and Kaede are behind us," Chihiro said. Hina turned around as they saw their competition in a cab behind them.

"What? How did that happen?" Hina asked.

"It's fine," Chihiro replied. "We can beat them at the challenge."

"It should be coming up soon," the driver said. He stopped as they and Shuichi and Kaede got out of their cabs and ran to the stadium.

"Where's the clue box?" Chihiro asked.

"It's probably inside," Hina said. Shuichi and Kaede followed them inside as they rustled for the clue box.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in 1st Place**

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock," Shuichi read. "Who's ready to take control?"

**[R] Game On**

_ **E-sports is known as South Korea's national pastime. Professional gamers like these are known around the country and are treated like celebrities, with competitions aired on national television and millions of people tuning in to watch them live. In this Roadblock, Chihiro, Kaede, Ibuki, and Chiaki must compete against these professional gamers in a game of Super Smash Bros Ultimate. After choosing their characters, these team members must win one game on a one-on-one battle with no items to receive their next clue. But to make sure these professionals don't keep our racers here overnight, the racers will be given a handicap per ten rounds lost.** _

"Kaede, Chihiro, Chiaki, and Ibuki have to do this Roadblock," Chihiro read. "I'm good at games I would think. We should be fine."

"I guess I have to do it," Kaede replied. The gamers led them to the stage as they both got settled into their gaming booths.

"This is so cool," Chihiro gushed.

"Fun, eh?" the pro said.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Ha, that won't last."

"Oh my god, this is like a cockpit," Kaede said.

"_Never in my life have I touched a video game," Kaede explained. "I respect the games, I respect what these pros do, but I have zero experience. I've always spent all of my time pressing keys on my piano instead of pressing buttons on some screen." _

"What does this do?" Kaede asked, jiggling the joystick.

"It makes you move," the instructor replied.

"Alright, how do I hit?"

"The rightmost button for your regular attack, and the leftmost button for your special attack."

"What? What's the difference?"

"It depends per character."

"Explain it to me like I'm five."

Meanwhile, Chihiro had it down. "I've played this before. I think I'm ready."

"You haven't practiced!"

"I think I'll give it a go,"

They navigated to the SMASH panel and then picked their characters.

"I'll pick Link," he said. The pro laughed as he picked Mario.

**Chihiro: Game 1: Link vs Mario**

Link and Mario spawned into the arena as the timer counted down. Chihiro controlled Link to swing his sword at Mario, but Mario hit Link with a burst of fire.

"Oh my god,"

Link jumped up and dodged, but Mario punched upwards, causing Link to fall to the ground. Link spun his sword in a spin, but Mario grabbed him and tossed him off the stage.

"Show mercy!"

"No!"

As Link came back to the edge, Mario smashed attacked against him and blasted him off the left edge of the screen.

**GAME!**

Chihiro wiped sweat off his face. "This is gonna be a long day.

**Kaede: Game 1: Pichu vs Mario**

Pichu ran up to Mario as Kaede spammed the attack button to make him headbutt. Mario rolled behind Pichu to punch it a few times before spamming him with fireball projectiles.

"What?" Kaede asked. She kept trying to move, but she couldn't from the fireballs. "I- I can't even get close to get a hit in!"

The gamer laughed as they stopped the fireball barrage and then followed it up by a straight vertical punch off the screen.

**GAME!**

"This is impossible," Kaede said.

"Don't give up!" Shuichi shouted. "Keep trying!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon chomped down on the octopus.

"Ibuki's done… she's waiting for you."

"I get it, Ibuki. I get it. I fucking get it." Leon snapped. "Just let me take my time."

Ibuki sighed. "Just-"

"I GET IT!"

Ibuki sat and watched as Leon slowly ate the rest of the octopus in disgust. The waiter walked up to them and handed over their clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"That was awful and disgusting," Leon said, putting their stuff into a cab.

"I thought it was really cool!" Ibuki shouted.

"Hard disagree. I can still feel them squirming…"

**Chihiro: 4th Game: Link vs Mario**

"Oh my god!" Chihiro shouted. "Stop!"

Mario kept dodging Link's attacks as he shot Link straight upwards.

**GAME!**

**Kaede: 5th Game: Pichu vs Mario**

"You're not even letting me get a hit!" Kaede shouted, barrage after barrage of fireballs. The gamer laughed.

Shuichi whispered to himself. "Does she know how to jump?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Don't be too upset," Ibuki said. "Hajime and Chiaki are probably behind us. Gloomy weather can't keep us down!"

"But this clue says to go to an E-stadium, which is probably video games," Leon said. "If they show up before we leave, there's a high chance we can go home today."

"Come on! Don't think so negatively! We can do it!"

**Chihiro: 9th Game: Link vs Mario**

"Let me get up!" Chihiro shouted. The gamer said nothing and continued ramming Link into the ground.

"You're mean."

Link was slapped to the ground and then rebounded off the floor to the sky, where he flew off the screen. Chihiro gripped his head in frustration

**Kaede**

"Okay, this isn't fair!" Kaede shouted. "Can I change my character?"

"If you want," the pro said. Kaede exited out of the stage selection to instead choose Pokemon Trainer as her character.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kaede said, entering back into the battle as Chihiro looked.

"_Kaede really had no idea what she was doing," Chihiro explained. "She swapped characters, but I don't know if she realized that each character was extremely different with different movesets and different abilities, and that was basically resetting her to square one." _

**Kaede: Game 9: Pokemon Trainer vs Mario**

Squirtle and Mario spawned in. The moment the countdown reached zero, Squirtle slid right off the edge of the map and off into the void below.

**GAME!**

"If we get eliminated because of this, I'm gonna be real upset." Kaede said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki ran into the stadium and ripped the clue open.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Are you good at video games?" Leon asked.

"I love video games! Chiaki and I play a lot in class!"

"Alright, well this time you're going to have to beat it before Chiaki gets here."

Ibuki ran into the stadium grounds and into one of the booths, across from the two teams already there. Meanwhile, Leon made his way to sit with the non-participating members in the stands.

"Did you see Hajime and Chiaki at all?" Shuichi asked.

"Nope. I have no clue where they are. But we know they couldn't have been here because there was an extra clue in the box outside." Leon replied.

"The question I want an answer for. Where are they?" Hina asked.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

Hajime and Chiaki checked their coats at the door as they walked into the restaurant and sat down at a table.

"Alright, what are we eating?" Hajime asked, somewhat excited.

"You know it's not going to be pleasant," Chiaki replied stoically.

"I can dream," Hajime said, picking up the chopsticks and picking up some kimchi and radish. Then the plates came.

Hajime looked in horror. "Oh, what the f-"

Then Chiaki stuffed some in her mouth. "No time for being grossed out. Eat it!"

Then, she picked at her teeth. "Oh, it's getting stuck to everything."

"This is not something I want to eat in a rush," Hajime said, rapidly chewing.

"It doesn't matter. Get it down or go we home." Chiaki replied.

"_The last thing I wanted was to go home the leg before the finale," Hajime explained. "If we did, I would feel that everything we did so far was meaningless. We did so well this race, and I didn't want it to go to waste." _

Chiaki chewed and then ate broccoli from one of the side dishes.

**Chihiro: Game 11: Link vs Mario, One Hand**

"You lost ten rounds," the instructor said. "Now he has to play with one hand."

"One hand?" Chihiro asked. "I'm still going to get wrecked… but okay."

They spawned in as Mario grabbed Link and hurled him off the side of the platform. Chihiro got back on only for Mario to weaken him with a few punches. Link shot a few arrows and used his boomerang, but Mario deflected them with his cape and then smashed Link off the stage.

**GAME!**

**Ibuki**

"Ooh, which one should Ibuki pick?" Ibuki asked, going through the selections. "Eenie meenie minie… you!" She moused over Kirby.

**Kaede: Game 11: Pokemon Trainer vs Mario, One-Hand**

"Oh, you're playing with one hand now?" Kaede asked. "Alright. Let's go!"

They spawned in as Mario hurled Squirtle off the side of the platform. She jumped up and returned, and suddenly swapped to Ivysaur.

"What just happened? What in the world did I just do? What happened to my turtle?"

The surprise was enough for the gamer to catch her off guard and stomp her off the side of the platform and off the screen.

**GAME!**

"Seriously, what the hell just happened?"

**Ibuki: Game 1: Kirby vs Mr. Game and Watch**

Kirby and Mr Game and Watch spawned in as the timer counted down. Once the game began, Ibuki made Kirby go in and suck in Mr Game and Watch.

"Oh yeah, I'll suck you, I'll suck you real good."

Kirby gained Mr. Game and Watch's power and turned a void black as she tried to go in for a punch, but Mr Game and Watch flung pancakes at her and hit her with a chair and a hammer.

"That's not nice! Don't flip the pancakes at me or else I'll flip the bird at you!"

Mr. Game and Watch launched Kirby off the side of the platform, then went out and smashed downwards to blast her off the bottom of the screen.

**GAME!**

"That was intense!" Ibuki shouted. "Let's go again!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime began choking as Chiaki got behind him to do the Heimlich maneuver.

"Thanks," he said. "Almost done with this crap. I bet we're going to turn into zombie cannibals or something."

"Just eat."

**Kaede: Game 16: Pokemon Trainer vs Mario, One Hand**

Kaede hit Mario a few times before Mario hurled her off the stage, and she didn't know how to recover and fell to the void below.

**GAME!**

"I don't know what to do!" Kaede shouted.

"Just get your shit together and think!" Shuichi shouted from the stands.

"Wow, very encouraging of you! What do you think I've been doing this whole time? Just mindlessly slapping around the buttons?"

"That's what it looks like!"

Kaede sighed.

"Wow, Kaede," Ibuki said. "You suck!"

"Thanks. Thanks for that."

**Chihiro: Game 18: Link vs Mario, One Hand**

Chihiro used his projectiles as he watched Mario's damage percentage slowly rise up.

"Okay, get up that knockback…" Chihiro muttered. Mario then leapt over the projectiles and then pummeled him from behind, Chihiro tried to smash attack him to the left, but he dodged it and smashed Link to the right.

**GAME!**

"This is absolute insanity," Chihiro said. "He's playing one handed and still beating me. I don't even know if Chiaki will get this first try, y'know?"

**Ibuki: Game 5: Kirby vs Mr Game and Watch**

"Okay, you're going down, flat, black piece of paper!" Ibuki shouted. Kirby sucked up Mr Game and Watch and then spat him out before hovering above him and turning into a stone, then smashing him downwards.

"Alright! Let's go!" Ibuki shouted. Mr. Game and Watch flicked pancakes at her and then hit her with a hammer, sending her flying off the screen.

**GAME!**

"Pancakes are the death of me," Ibuki said.

**Chihiro**

"Alright, let's go again," Chihiro said.

"It's been another ten rounds," the instructor said. "Now, one finger."

"Oh, one finger," Chihiro said. "Alright. Let's a' go!"

**Chihiro: Game 21: Link vs Mario: One Finger**

Link swept his sword into Mario as the percentage gradually increased. However, Mario rolled behind him, grabbed him, then slammed him into the air before jumping up and smacking him even more into the air whenever he was about to land.

"Oh my god, stop!" Chihiro shouted. "I'm not a volleyball!"

That was enough for Link to be blasted vertically and out of the screen.

**GAME!**

**Kaede**

"I'm gonna swap my character again," She said. "I'm gonna go with this yellow dog. Isabelle."

**Kaede: Game 21: Isabelle vs Mario: One Finger**

Isabelle began running as Mario began spamming fireballs, all of which hit Isabelle.

"Come on! How do I get past that!" Kaede shouted. Isabelle cast her fishing line, which latched onto Mario and launched him off the platform. But, Mario got back onto the platform and then gave a few punches before throwing Isabelle off the screen.

**GAME!**

"Oh god, I'm gonna be here all night!"

**Ibuki: Game 14: Kirby vs Mr Game and Watch: One Hand**

"Come on!" Ibuki shouted. Kirby charged up his hammer as he swung at Mr Game and Watch, significantly increasing his percentage. He then threw a few punches until Mr Game and Watch had 100%.

"Oh, she's gonna get it!" Leon shouted.

Then Mr Game and Watch pushed Kirby out over the gap, then slammed her downwards.

"Aww!" Leon shouted. "Boo!"

"Almost! Almost!" Ibuki said. The gamer smiled and nodded.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, this is sticking to everything! I can't take it." Hajime said.

"That's what the sesame oil is for," Chiaki said. "Just dunk it in. It'll oil it up."

He dunked some of the octopus into the oil and then put into his mouth. "Better, but it's still somewhat sticky."

"Just deal with it."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the stadium, everyone struggled.

**GAME!**

**GAME!**

**GAME!**

"How long have we been here?" Hina asked.

"At least thirty minutes," Shuichi replied. "Hajime and Chiaki are bound to catch up at some point."

**Chihiro: Game 31: Link vs Mario: Blindfolded**

"He's blindfolded now," Chihiro said. "Which will make me feel terrible about myself if I lose,"

"You've got this Chihiro!" Hina shouted. Link spawned in as he went in for several swings, whittling down the percentage and increasing the knockback. He used the boomerang and the arrows, then used the remote bomb to explode him from a distance.

"Come on! 120%!" Chihiro shouted. "I just need to hit... I just need to hit… He's blindfolded and still really good..."

Mario hit him a few times, knocking him over the edge but quickly recovering. Link then whacked Mario off the platform and off the screen.

**GAME!**

"Did I get it?" Chihiro asked. "I got it! Yeah!"

"Oh my god did she get it?" Kaede asked. "Drat. She got it."

Chihiro stood up as the gamer handed him the clue. He cheered and ran down to the viewing area where he reunited with Hina.

"You did great!" Hina said. "Come on! Rip and read it!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way by subway to your next Pit Stop," Chihiro read.

**[i] Proceed to Pit Stop: Gyeongbokgung Palace**

_ **Teams must now make their way by the subway to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Built in 1395, this was the royal palace of Korea and the center of the Korean Government during the Joseon Dynasty. It will now be the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The first three teams who check in here at the mat will be safe and given the opportunity to race for one hundred million yen in the finale. However, the last team WILL be eliminated. ** _

"We're in first place!" Chihiro said. "Come on! Let's hold onto our lead!"

They left the stadium as they pulled over a cab.

"Wait," Chihiro said.

"What?"

"Our clue says to take the subway."

"Oh," Hina replied. "Sorry," she said to the cab driver. The driver shooed them off as they ran to a nearby station.

**Ibuki: Game 25: Kirby vs Mr Game and Watch: One Finger**

"Alright, die!" Ibuki shouted. "You've got Ibuki all pumped up!"

Kirby charged up his hammer fast enough to launch Mr Game and Watch off the map.

**GAME!**

"I did it!" Ibuki shouted, snatching the clue away from the gamer. She ran down to Leon to open their clue.

"She got it too?" Kaede asked, frustrated.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way by subway to your next Pit Stop," Leon read. "Come on! We can catch up to Chihiro and Hina!"

They ran into the pouring rain and down into a subway station.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We've cleared our plates, sir," Hajime said. The waiter came out and handed them the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"E-stadium?" Chiaki asked. "I can smoke that. Just as long as there are teams still there."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina turned around to see the doors close just as Ibuki and Leon ran into the station.

"Oh, thank god," Chihiro said. "I do not want to get second place to Leon and Ibuki of all people."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Drat, missed it by seconds!" Leon said. "That's alright. We just need to be in front of a team right now, and right now that's Shuichi and Kaede. As long as she doesn't get it anytime soon and we don't make some stupid mistake, we should be fine."

**Kaede: Game 41: Wii Fit Trainer vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

"How?" Kaede asked. "He's blindfolded and somehow still killing me! Are you sure you're blindfolded there?"

"It's alright, Kaede!" Shuichi shouted. "Just calm yourself and play!"

Kaede tried again only to be killed within a minute. "Okay, I give up."

"What?" Shuichi asked. "You're giving up?"

"Well, not 'give up' give up," Kaede said. "I just need a five-minute break."

"What? No! Get your butt up into that chair and keep trying!"

"_At that point, I just needed a rest," Kaede explained. "I've been failing at a video game for forty minutes straight, my eyes are all sore, my posture was terrible, and I was really fuming and ready to explode."_

"_And me on the other hand, was very disappointed in her at that moment. We're the only team here, two teams are already gone, with one possibly seconds behind us, and she wants to take a rest." _

Kaede sat down in the stands next to Shuichi and took out her water bottle as she began sipping on it. Shuichi waited a few seconds before telling her off. "There. You've had your break. Now go up and wreck that dude!"

Kaede sighed. "I just need another minute."

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki got into their train as they sat down.

"If we do come in second," Leon said. "That's going to be our best placement yet."

"That's kind of sad to be honest," Ibuki replied.

"Weren't you the one yelling at me about being pessimistic?!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Here! Gyeongbokgung Station!" Hina said. They exited their train and ran upstairs.

* * *

Chihiro and Hina entered the stormy palace gate and ran to Monokuma on the mat.

"Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma said.

"Yeah?" Chihiro replied.

"You are team number TWO."

"What?" Hina asked. "How?"

"Did Hajime and Chiaki check in?" Chihiro asked, on the verge of crying. "It's always second place for us…"

"Nah, I'm joking, you're team number ONE!"

**Chihiro and Hina: 1st Place**

"What! Yeah!" Hina shouted, pumped up. "Finally!"

"It's about time, huh?" Monokuma asked. "And I have some good news for you. You are one of the three teams who will be racing in the finale for the one hundred million yen!"

"We're so proud of ourselves!" Chihiro said, hand on his chest.

"Unfortunately, there is no prize today."

"Oh, come on!" Hina shouted.

"But on the final flight back home, you will be pampered in business class. Additionally, you will be staying in a luxury suite to make sure you and the other two teams will be fully rested and comfortable to go into the finale to give it your all."

"That sounds great, Monokuma," Hina said. "We'll be sure to have a nice rest."

"_We are so proud of ourselves today about our first place." Hina explained. "This is our first first place of the season, so we're hoping we can carry that streak onto tomorrow. But it just proves that we're not a second-place team. We can actually do this. We can actually beat anyone who's racing with us. We can actually win." _

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki got out of their subway car as they ran up to Monokuma, next to Chihiro and Hina.

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "You are team number TWO!"

**Leon and Ibuki: 2nd Place**

"Yeah!" Leon shouted.

"And you are one of the three teams who will be duking it out in the finale for one hundred million yen!"

"This is our best placement yet!"

"Is it now?" Monokuma asked.

"Well our previous best was our third place finish all the way back in L.A." Ibuki said.

"That was a while ago," Chihiro said. "Well, congrats."

"No, congrats to you!" Ibuki replied. "You finally got the first you deserve!"

"Not yet we don't." Hina said.

* * *

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"Roadblock," Hajime read. "It's all you!"

"Finally, a gaming challenge," Chiaki said.

**Kaede**

Kaede sighed and ran back up to the gaming booths. "Alright, let's do thi-"

She looked up and paused as Hajime and Chiaki came into the stadium.

"Oh, fuck," Shuichi said. "Come on, Kaede! You can do this!"

"_The moment I see them walk through the door," Kaede explained. "Completely revitalized me. We still have a chance if I could get this in the next few tries." _

"Alright, let's do this!" Kaede said.

**Chiaki **

"Oh my god, Shuichi and Kaede are still here!" Hajime said. "We could survive! Just do as best as you can!"

"Got it!"

**Kaede: Game 42: Wii Fit Trainer vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

Wii Fit Trainer hit Mario with a beam of light before hitting him with a few yoga poses. Then, she picked up Mario and threw him over the edge, but he rebounded and hit Wii Fit trainer several times to knock her off the edge of the stage.

**GAME!**

**Chiaki**

"Hi, I'm Chiaki," Chiaki said, introducing herself to her competitior. "Alright. Normally… I would like to have some fun… but since I need to get out of here…"

Chiaki picked Inkling.

**Chiaki: Game 1: Inkling vs Link**

They spawned in as Inkling immediately sprayed Link with orange ink.

"Come on! I'll ink you to oblivion!" Chiaki shouted.

Link swung back a few times to damage her, but she jabbed at him, increasing their percentage at a more or less proportional rate.

"Oh, you're good!" the pro said.

"I am the Ultimate Gamer," Chiaki replied. "Stop distracting me!"

Chiaki initiated the roller, but Link rolled behind her and initiated the smash attack, launching her off the side.

**GAME!**

"Did I just lose?" Chiaki asked.

"_That was the first time I've lost in a game (that wasn't Mario Party against Nagito) in years." Chiaki explained. "In my defense, we were neck-and-neck, and these guys are NATIONAL champions who do this for a living and are totally famous for it. I'm just one of the best people in my age group." _

"Chiaki just lost," Kaede said. "Never thought I'd be saying that. But we have a chance!"

"Good game," The pro said. "You've been the best person I've played against in ages."

"Thanks," Chiaki replied. "Let's go again."

**Kaede**

"I'm swapping my character to Inkling because that's what Chiaki's using, so it must be better," Kaede said.

**Kaede: Game 43: Inkling vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

"So, this has been fun and all, but I really want to go now." Kaede said.

"Ha, no," the gamer said. "We'll see about that."

Kaede spritzed ink at Mario.

"It covers them in ink? What does that do?"

"_From the looks of it, the reason why Kaede has been here for so long is that she's been constantly swapping her characters every few rounds," Chiaki explained. "Naturally, if you were to pick one character and stick with it, you'd learn about how to play and its mechanics. But these characters are so different that it's like trying to write an essay in English, then swapping to French halfway through and then to Chinese." _

Kaede initiated the roller as Mario jumped over that easily. Mario pummeled her a few times, threw her off the edge, then smacked her into the abyss below.

**GAME!**

"Come on!" Kaede shouted, beginning to tear up. "To go home in fourth… after how well we've done on this race… I'm going to lose to a stupid video game…"

"It's not over yet!" Shuichi shouted. "Keep going! Unless Monokuma tells us so, it's not over!"

**Chiaki: Game 2: Inkling vs Link**

Chiaki spawned in and Link spawned in. She used the Splat bomb to coat Link in ink, then jabbed at him several times and dodged his attacks. She smash attacked to do some significant damage which launched him off the edge of the platform, but he recovered. Link slashed the Inkling a few times to do some major damage and then whipped out his bow and arrow.

"Not today," Chiaki said. "We're not going home today."

She pulled out the roller and ran over Link, burying him in the ground. She charged up her smash attack while he was still in the ground, and then smashed him to the right and off the screen.

**GAME!**

"Nice work!" the pro said, handing Chiaki the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Pit Stop," Hajime read. "Let's go! You did great!"

**Kaede**

Kaede walked down to Shuichi and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing.

"So disappointing!"

"It's alright," Shuichi said. "It's alright. We don't know what's going on. Maybe one of the others got lost. We don't know, so all I want you to do to 'apologize' to me is to go up there and continue until either we get the clue or Monokuma shows up to eliminate us."

Kaede nodded and took a heavy sip of water before sobbing her way back up to the panel.

"I'm sorry," the gamer said.

"It's not your fault," Kaede replied. "Let's get this over with.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki got back into their cab.

"Good thing you took like five minutes," Hajime said. "We don't have to pay a fortune to retain our taxi."

"Right," Chiaki replied. "We know that we left behind Shuichi and Kaede, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be eliminated. For all we know, we can get lost, the other teams could get lost, there could be some kind of twist at the end where the Pit Stop isn't really the Pit Stop, anything can happen."

"We're not going to count our chickens before they hatch." Hajime said.

**Kaede: Game 44: Inkling vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

**GAME!**

**Kaede: Game 46: Inkling vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

**GAME!**

**Kaede: Game 49: Inkling vs Mario: Blindfolded and One Hand**

**GAME!**

Kaede sat there, sobbing with her head in her hands.

"It's okay," Shuichi said. "It's okay."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

The cab pulled up in front of the palace as they ran inside to Monokuma and the other two teams on the mat. Both Chihiro and Hina and Leon and Ibuki were ecstatic that they were the ones that made it.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "You are the third team to arrive!"

They sighed in relief.

"However," Monokuma said, as both of them looked up. "You were told to take the subway from the theater to Myong-Dong. I understand you've taken a taxi. For that, you've incurred a thirty minute penalty, which you must wait out before I can check you in."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Penalty Time: 30:00**

"Oh, you're joking," Hajime said, fingers at the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not joking. I'm also not finished." Monokuma said. "Additionally, your clue instructed you to take the subway from the E-stadium to the Pit Stop. Once again, you've taken a cab. For that, you've incurred a second thirty-minute penalty. A total penalty time of one hour."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Penalty Time: 1:00:00**

Hajime grasped his face and Chiaki looked down at the ground.

"Please go wait over there," Monokuma said. Hina's jaw dropped as Ibuki looked at them in concern. They both let out a huge sigh as they walked over and sat down on the hard, wet concrete of the stormy Seoul palace, Hajime's face drenched in rain and tears.

"This is it," Hajime said. "We're done. There's no way they're gonna be stuck in there for another hour. No matter how bad Kaede is at gaming."

**Kaede: Game 51: Inkling vs Mario: Blindfold, Noise-Cancelling Headphones, and One Hand**

Inkling rolled over Mario as she hit him to dwindle down the health. Then, she hit him which initiated a critical hit, launching Mario off the screen

**GAME!**

The entire audience broke out into applause as Kaede was given her clue.

**Shuichi and Kaede: Currently in Last Place**

"Make your way by subway to your next Pit Stop," Shuichi read.

"I'm so sorry," Kaede wheezed. "I lost it for us."

"You didn't lose it," Shuichi replied. "I'm not sure if I would've done much better."

They descended down into the subway.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Penalty Time Remaining: 0:45:37**

"Each round takes around a minute," Hajime said. "And there's the twenty minute ride… we need her to fail forty more times… that's not gonna happen."

"Hajime, hold your head up," Chiaki said. "It's not over until they walk through that gate."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede got into the subway and sat down. "Gyeongbokgung station," Shuichi repeated. Kaede sniffled from her tears.

"Maybe… maybe they have a penalty?" Kaede asked. "There were a lot of transportation specifics that were easy to miss…"

"Maybe," Shuichi replied. "That's why we still have to get there fast!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: Penalty Time Remaining: 0:36:10**

"To go home in 4th… that's the last thing I want," Hajime said. "To fall just short of the finale."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

"Hey, do you know how many stations Gyeongbokgung is?" Shuichi asked.

"Gyeongbokgung station?" the passerby asked. "Around twenty stops that direction."

He pointed in the opposite direction of the subway.

"That way?" Shuichi asked. The man nodded. "Kaede… we're on the wrong direction train."

"What?"

At the next station, they got out and quickly swapped trains.

"That cost us a few minutes," Shuichi said. "Hopefully it doesn't make any kind of difference."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Penalty Time Remaining: 0:19:38**

"I can't imagine how stressful that situation is," Hina said. "To be waiting out an hour penalty on the penultimate leg with one team behind you. That's rough."

"We do want them in the final three, though," Chihiro said. "It's nervewracking for us too."

**Shuichi and Kaede**

Shuichi and Kaede exited their train and ran upwards out of the station and near the palace.

* * *

Shuichi and Kaede ran into the palace grounds and towards the Pit Stop and Hajime threw his water bottle in frusturation.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" he shouted.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said. "I can check you in now."

They sprung up like a cartoon and darted straight for the mat.

"Hajime and Chiaki, I am proud to tell you that you are officially team number THREE, and you are one of the three teams who will be racing for the hundred million yen back in Japan."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 3rd Place**

Hajime wrapped Chiaki in a huge bear hug just as Shuichi and Kaede stepped onto the mat.

"Shuichi and Kaede," Monokuma said. "As you can see, you are the last team to arrive."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Last Place**

"We thought so," Shuichi said.

"Hajime and Chiaki had a penalty that they were waiting out," Monokuma said. "But unfortunately, that just expired less than fifteen seconds before you touched the mat. I am sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race."

**Shuichi and Kaede: Eliminated**

They both sighed. "I got out my emotions at the Roadblock," Kaede said.

"_Yeah, it's kind of a bummer that we lost just short of the finale," Shuichi said. "But we got to circumnavigate the globe, go to eleven foreign nations, all with my best friend." _

"_We're grateful for this experience and even though we couldn't complete it, I wouldn't give it up for anything," Kaede said. "See you at the Finish Line."_

Shuichi and Kaede walked away from the rainy palace, waving at the teams who made it into finals.

* * *

_ **What makes you think that you can beat out your competition for the hundred million?** _

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We've been in a massive improvement over the race," Chihiro explained. "We did have a rough start, but we made it up by having a total of six second place finishes and a first place today."

"If that's not an indication of extreme improvement, I don't know what is." Hina said. "We're going to win this."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Y'know, we haven't really done all that well throughout the race," Leon said. "But that doesn't mean we can't pull it off in the end."

"The finale is all that matters." Ibuki said. "The past, *floosh*, not important. We just need to make sure we give it our all tomorrow, and you'll see our true strength."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We are definitely the strongest team left," Hajime said. "For the majority of the race, we've been in front of one or both of them."

"If we do our absolute best, we're an unstoppable force," Chiaki said. "Be careful of us. We'll take home the money, whether the others like it or not."

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Chihiro and Hina

2nd: Leon and Ibuki

3rd: Hajime and Chiaki

_ **Eliminated: Shuichi and Kaede** _

**Race Average:**

_ **Shuichi and Kaede: 2.45** _

Hajime and Chiaki: 3.45

Chihiro and Hina: 3.73

Leon and Ibuki: 4.73

_Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.56_

_Makoto and Sayaka: 4.00_

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Chihiro 6, Hina 6

Leon 6, Ibuki 6

Hajime 6, Chiaki 6

_ **Shuichi 6, Kaede 6** _

_Nagito 5, Nekomaru 5_

_Makoto 5, Sayaka 4_

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**Next Time on the Dual-Length Finale of the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition**

The Final Three give it their all as they sprint through the nighttime sky of Tokyo.

"_This is it, do or die," Chiaki said._

_*Hajime falling down the side of the Tokyo Tower while Chiaki watches*_

"_AAAAAAHAHHHAHAAHHHHH!"_

_*Chihiro sprinting through Akihabara*_

_*Leon and Ibuki running up to the Tokyo Dome*_

As they fight their way to the Finish Line for a chance at the one hundred million yen.

_*Chiaki hanging up red Japanese lanterns*_

"_It doesn't matter how well we did in the past," Chihiro explained. "We have to win today or everything would've been for naught."_

"_This is it," Leon said. "The day we finally show everyone how strong we really are."_

"_We have to give it our all. No other option! This is it! This is what we've worked so hard to achieve!" Hajime shouted._

"_One in three! One of three!" Ibuki cheered._

"_Twelve Countries," Monokuma said. "Twenty-one cities, over 37,000 miles, I am proud to tell you that you are the official winners of the Amazing Race and the hundred million yen, congratulations!"_

* * *

**What are your thoughts on the final 3? I know some people are gonna be mad that Shuichi and Kaede went home today, but reminder that this is how I planned it out from the very start, before I wrote chapter 1. Just something to note: the Finale will take a while to write because I plan for it to be a full 10K+ word chapter. It's not going to be broken up, but it'll be INTENSE. Anways, who will win? Tough competition Hajime and Chiaki? Progressively improving Chihiro and Hina? Or underdogs Leon and Ibuki? Please let me know in the reviews.**


	23. Leg 12: Finale

**Just before we start, I want to say that some scenes shown in the preview from the previous chapter might not be 100% accurate, so there are some things you might not see. I do come in with a game plan before I start, but I end up tweaking some things as I go along which could involve changing challenges from a Roadblock to a Route Info, or just scrapping a challenge altogether (IDK if you've been noticing, but I have actually been going back and tweaking some previews for some of the earlier chapters when I realized something just wouldn't work). Anyways, I've worked extremely hard for this finale. You better like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:**

Twenty-two Hope's Peak Academy students lined up at the Starting Line at Hope's Peak, and branched off into eleven teams of two.

_*Teams drawing cards to select their partners*_

_*Nagito picking Nekomaru, Makoto picking Sayaka, Hajime picking Chiaki, Tenko picking Himiko, Kaede picking Shuichi, Miu picking Kazuichi, Sonia picking Kaito, Leon picking Ibuki, Chihiro picking Hina, Celeste picking Akane, and Rantaro and Hiro formed by default.*_

Once the teams were picked, they began on a twelve-country race through the world.

"_Fly to Los Angeles, USA," Tenko read._

"_Fly to Montreal, Canada," Shuichi read_

"_Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" Miu read_

"_Paris, France"_

"_Marrakech, Morocco,"_

"_Athens, Greece,"_

"_Port Elizabeth, South Africa,"_

"_Dubai, United Arab Emirates"_

"_Phuket, Thailand,"_

"_Guangzhou, China"_

"_Seoul, South Korea,"_

Along the way on this marvelous journey, eight teams were eliminated.

"_Sonia and Kaito,"_

"_Hiro and Rantaro,"_

"_Celeste and Akane"_

"_Tenko and Himiko,"_

"_Miu and Kazuichi,"_

"_Makoto and Sayaka,"_

"_Nagito and Nekomaru,"_

"_Shuichi and Kaede, I am sorry to say that you are the last team to arrive and you have been eliminated from the race," Monokuma said, with Shuichi and Kaede nodding and tearing up._

In the end, three teams remain to take down the million.

Hajime Hinata and Chiaki Nanami stayed in the middle of the pack for the first few legs with flight issues and miniscule mistakes. But eventually, they established themselves as one of the strongest teams on the race, winning a total of three legs.

After a disastrous first half of the race, Chihiro Fujisaki and Aoi Asahina improved after getting last in a non-elimination leg in Leg 4. But starting with leg 6, they proved themselves worthy, getting six second-place finishes and a first place finish on the penultimate leg

Leon and Ibuki seemed doomed from the start, running close to elimination with only two top-three finishes. However, they persevered, sticking through the race and finally making the top three.

Tonight, one of these three teams will arrive first at the finish line, and will win the one hundred million yen, and the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition!

* * *

_ **This is Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace and residence of the monarchs of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. It will now be the starting point for the final leg in a race around the world.** _

_ **Chihiro and Hina won the previous leg, and will depart first at 8:00 AM.** _

**Chihiro and Hina: 1st to depart, 8:00 AM**

"I'm so pumped up!" Chihiro said.

Hina smiled and ripped the clue open. "Fly to your final destination city, Tokyo, Japan!"

**[i] Fly to Final Destination: Tokyo, Japan**

_ **Teams must now fly one thousand miles eastwards, over the Sea of Japan, to their final destination city, Tokyo. Once teams touch down in Tokyo, they must make their way to the Tokyo Tower to find their next clue.** _

"We're going home!" Hina cheered. They hailed a cab and got inside as they made their way to the Incheon airport.

"_It's the finals, and we're in it!" Hina cheered._

"We finally got a win yesterday," Chihiro said. "But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how well we did in the past. We have to win today or everything would've been for naught."

**Leon and Ibuki: 2nd to depart, 8:07 AM**

"Tokyo!" Leon read. "Wow!"

"_To be fair, after our performance, I was convinced that we would be eliminated sometime or another," Leon explained. "But we made it, which I am still having trouble believing."_

"_We're the only team with no wins so far," Ibuki said. "But Ibuki thinks that we can try our best, push through, and win that hundred million yen!"_

"This is it. The day we finally show everyone how strong we really are." Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki: 3rd to depart, 9:34 AM**

"Fly to your final destination city: Tokyo, Japan," Hajime read. They put their stuff into a cab and went off to the Incheon airport.

"I can't believe this," Hajime said. "Final three."

"_Yesterday was a rough leg for us," Chiaki explained. "We were stupid and misread our clue multiple times, and that put us seconds away from elimination,"_

"_We got lucky, but luck is not going to pull us through the finish line today," Hajime said. "I know we have the skill to do it. We just need to make sure we give it our all and we'll be certain to come out on top"_

"We have to give it our all! This is it!

* * *

Hajime and Chiaki walked into the terminal as they sat down with the other two teams.

"Did you have a nice rest?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah, we did," Hajime replied. "Such a nice relief after the stress of yesterday."

"Final leg," Chiaki said.

"Final leg." Leon confirmed.

Hajime put out a hand. "May the best team win."

Everyone shook hands with each other.

"It's gonna be us," Chiaki said.

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan**

The sun set over Tokyo. As such, the buildings all lit up, the billboards became prominent, and less cars roamed the streets.

And at the airport, one significant plane arrived.

**Tokyo International Airport: 8:30 PM**

The three teams rushed out of the airport and outside to the line of cabs waiting for them.

"GO GO GO!" Leon shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We need to get to the Tokyo Tower," Hajime said. "As fast as possible."

"Get in," the driver replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We're so excited," Leon said. "We've never really been able to hold onto a lead through the entire race, but we're hoping that that can change today,"

"We're back home!" Ibuki cheered. "We have no language barrier, our driver understands us, this is definitely something that will make this leg a lot more enjoyable."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We have a one in three chance of winning one hundred million yen," Chihiro said. "We just need to make sure we minimize mistakes and hold out onto any leads we might have."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We know it's possible for us to win," Hajime said. "For the entire race, minus the first because of flight mishaps, and last leg, we've been far in front of Leon and Ibuki. We've been swapping spots with Chihiro and Hina for more or less the entire race, so we're more concerned about them, but we can definitely get in front of them if we give it our all."

"This is it. Do or die." Chiaki said.

* * *

The Tokyo Tower shimmered in the night sky of the city as a cab pulled up to the base.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"The clue box is right there," Ibuki pointed. They ran up and ripped it open. "We're the first ones here!"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Roadblock," Ibuki read. "Who wants to see the city from the bottom up?"

Leon looked up at the tower. "There are three ropes hanging down. That's not good."

**[R] From the Bottom Up**

_ **The Tokyo Tower is a miracle of architecture, created in 1958 and inspired by Paris's Eiffel Tower. It is also the second tallest building in Japan, second to Tokyo's Sky Tower, measuring 1092 feet (333 meters). Now, teams must gear up… and climb it.** _

_ **Teams must now gear up in harnesses and use these mechanical ascenders to climb the approximately 400 feet between the ground and the lower observation deck. Once teams have climbed their way up to the deck, they will be treated to a surprise before receiving their next clue.** _

"I'll do it," Leon said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"I'll do it," Hina said.

Chihiro read the rest of the clue. "Alright… at least it's not going to be a disaster like LA."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"I want to see the city from the bottom up," Hajime said. "Climb the tower? That's insane."

**Leon**

After getting suited up, Leon came out to the roof of the topmost observation deck as he was clipped to the rope.

"Alright, you just need to push the ascender up with your hands, then pull up with your legs," the instructor said.

"You've got this!" Ibuki shouted. Leon nodded as Leon leapt up the rope and then pushed the ascender upwards. He then pulled his legs up, and then pushed the ascender back up again.

**Hina**

"Looks like this requires a lot of both upper and lower body strength," Hina said. "Which is good… I can definitely catch up to Leon, not sure how good Hajime is at this, though."

**Hajime**

"I can't believe this. I'm going to be climbing the side of the Tokyo Tower. How awesome is this?"

**Leon**

Leon huffed as he pulled himself up again. "Wow…" he said. "This is tougher than I would think."

"_I'm an athlete," Leon said. "I run a lot, I'd like to say that I have a lot of upper body strength as well, but oh god this was tough."_

"GRaaah!"

**Hina**

"Go!" the instructor said, as Hina lifted off the ground and began pulling herself up.

"_While I'm climbing, I can see Leon up ahead of me," Hina explained. "And it looked like he was using mostly his arms to do this. I could easily tell that while you do need some arm strength, these… ascenders I think they were called? Anyways, these ascenders were mostly used for leg strength."_

"I'm not… not sure… how fast I'm going…" Hina huffed. "But I'm… catching up…"

**Hajime**

"Oh, I am way behind them," Hajime said, beginning his ascent up the side of the tower. "Come on… hundred million… exhaustion… for a hundred million…"

"COME ON!" Chihiro shouted. "YOU CAN DO THIS, HINA!"

"YOU'VE GOT THIS! JUST STAY CALM! DON'T WORRY ABOUT FALLING BEHIND; WE CAN CATCH UP LATER!" Chiaki shouted.

"I WISH I WAS UP THERE! THAT LOOKS AWESOME!" Ibuki shouted.

"I'm so glad she's doing this," Chihiro said. "I was so afraid back in LA, and that wasn't even that physical in comparison to this."

"Yeah, we'd be so far behind if I was the one doing this," Chiaki agreed.

**Hina**

"I'm definitely… gaining… on him," she said between breaths of air. "I don't want… to waste time… looking down at Hajime... This tower… this tower goes on forever!"

From a far-away view, Hina was clearly closing the gap between her and Leon as Hajime slowly fell behind. But they were only around halfway up.

**Leon**

"This is the most… physically exhausting… worse than rickshaws… worse than statues… this is hard… I want a rest…"

But he didn't as he kept progressing.

**Hina**

Hina kept pushing and gasping for air as she got past Leon.

"What?" He asked. "How?"

Hina didn't say anything and kept up on her way to the top.

"Does this ever end?"

**Leon**

"Damn, she just passed me!" Leon shouted. "GOD DAMMIT!"

He raged as he tried to speed up, but couldn't catch up to the slowly advancing Aoi.

**Hajime**

"HHNNNNGGGG!" Hajime shouted, hoisting himself up further but obviously struggling. "Man!"

**Hina**

Hina grabbed onto the edge of the observatory as the guides pulled her inside and undid her harnesses.

"That was fricking brutal," she said. They instructed her to follow them into the elevator, which went up to the top observatory. Once they reached the top, they led her outside the window to a platform and clipped her into something else.

"What is this?" she asked. No response.

"Go walk out on that plank," he said.

"Oh, god," she replied, walking carefully to the end of the platform. The instructor clipped the clue to her harness.

"Alright, go!" he shouted, pushing her off the edge.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Hina shouted, falling but then jerking back upwards from the bungee cord.

"Oh my god," she breathed. "Oh my god."

**Hajime**

"Oh my god," Hajime said, watching Hina. "We have to do that?"

"He surprised me!" Hina shouted, getting pulled back up to the top observation deck.

**Leon**

At this time, Leon gripped onto the window of the observation deck as he was pulled inside, completely unaware of what Hina had just done.

"That was real tough," he said. They unclipped the rope as they went into the elevator.

"What now?" Leon asked.

"You'll see," the assistant replied.

**Hina**

Hina was pulled back up to the top of the tower and safely inside the observation deck as they got the harness off of her and gripped the clue in her hand. As she darted back to the elevator, Leon came out.

"What did you do?" Leon asked.

"Go up there and see for yourself," Hina replied. She got inside the elevator and clicked the down button.

**Leon**

Leon stepped to the end of the platform.

"That's a nice view, isn't it?" the assistant said.

"Yeah, It is a real ni-"

Then he pushed him off.

"AAAAAHAHAHAAAAAA!"

He bounced in midair from the bungee. "What the fuck what that? Warning me would be nice… fuck you instructor! Fuck you, Hina! I hate everyone!"

**Hajime**

Hajime grunted as he pulled himself up, almost three-quarters of the way. "Damn… we're going to have to catch up later…" he muttered. Then he heard Leon's outburst and laughed.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 1st Place**

"You did great, Hina!" Chihiro said. Hina ripped the clue open.

"Make your way to Shibuya Crossing and search for your next clue,"

**[i] Proceed to: Shibuya Crossing**

_ **Teams must now make their way to the Shibuya Scramble Crossing and search for their next clue.** _

"Let's go!" Hina shouted, jumping into their cab.

**Leon**

Leon made his way back down to the ground as he reunited with Ibuki.

"You were A-Mazing!"

"Thanks," Leon replied, opening the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way to Shibuya Crossing," Leon read.

**Hajime**

"Come on!" Hajime shouted, pulling himself upwards. "Just a few more feet… my arms are giving out on me…"

He groaned as he finally made the few feet push up to the observation deck, then grabbed on.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"That was just the first challenge," Hina said. "And it was so hard! I can't imagine what else we're doing today… especially the final challenge. That's going to be difficult, no doubt."

"We just have to push on through," Chihiro said.

"Yeah, we definitely have the capacity to beat the other teams at this."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"That looked AWESOME!" Ibuki shouted. "Ibuki wishes she was you."

"I wish you were doing that too," Leon replied. "It sucked so much."

**Hajime**

Hajime was hooked up to the harness.

"So you see up there? "The assistant asked. "You see that little thing up there? I think that's a UFO."

"What?" Hajime asked, looking up. "Whe-"

Then the assistant pushed him off the edge.

"AAAAAAAAHAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

He was then hoisted back up. "Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened…" he puffed. "That was so nervewracking…"

He made his way back to the ground where he reunited with Chiaki.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Make your way to Shibuya crossing," Hajime read.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I think we're here," Chihiro said. They got out of their cab as they looked at the busy intersection.

"Oh my god," Hina said. "We have to find our clue here? Look at how crowded it is!"

"I doubt it's on a person," Chihiro said. "If it was, though, it has to be someplace that stands out. They don't expect us to ask each of the two hundred million people here."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Oh my god, we're supposed to find our clue in this mess?" Leon asked. "It's so crowded I can barely see a foot in front of me!"

"Come on, Leon! Enough with the negativity!" Ibuki scolded. "Let's find this thing!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Sorry about how long that took me," Hajime said, upset in the cab. "They have an even greater lead now."

"It's okay," Chiaki replied. "There's still the entire rest of the leg. They could trip up, we could push ahead, we just don't know.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"What if it's by the dog statue?" Hina asked.

"Hachi?" Chihiro clarified. "Let's go check."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We're so lost," Leon said. "It's so crowded that it's hard to tell whether or not we're passing right by it!"

"Ooh!" Ibuki said. "What if it's on a billboard?"

"Billboard?" Leon asked, looking up. "Ibuki, it's not going to be on a bi-"

He looked at the giant screen on the Shibuya 109 building.

**Amazing Taiyaki! Race to Wakaba!**

"Amazing Taiyaki! Race to Wakaba…" he said.

**[i] Proceed to: Taiyaki Wakaba**

"I think that's it! It has the right colors and everything!" Ibuki said.

"Let's ask someone," Leon said. He turned to a passerby. "Hey, do can you google something for us?"

"What?"

"Google Taiyaki and Wakaba."

"It's showing me some pastry shop,"

"Alright, thanks," Ibuki replied. "Is it in Tokyo?"

"Yes it is."

"Thank you!"

Leon and Ibuki raced back to the road where several cars were waiting for the crossing to switch back into a regular road. As a result, it was quite easy to pick up a taxi.

"Hi, we need to get to Taiyaki Wakaba," Leon said, getting into the cab.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"There's Leon and Ibuki," Hina said. "Oh… no… they got into a cab…"

"Did they get it?"

"Hopefully not, hopefully they went to the wrong place."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran into the crossing as they saw Chihiro and Hina still looking.

"Did you guys find it?" Hajime asked.

"No," Chihiro replied. "We're still looking."

"You didn't see a clue box or a person with red and yellow clothes, have you?" Chiaki asked.

"Definitely not, we'd be out of here by now if we did!" Hina replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Great work, Ibuki!" Leon said. "I still saw Chihiro and Hina there, and I'm certain Hajime and Chiaki are still far behind. We're in first now!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro looked up. "Maybe it's not on the ground. Maybe it's supposed to be up here somewhere."

Hina then looked up as well. "Oh my god, there it is!"

**Amazing Taiyaki! Race to Wakaba!**

"You think that's it?" Chihiro asked.

"It could be…"

"Fine. Let's try it. But where would it be?"

"There's a Taiyaki place called Taiyaki Wakaba,"

"Cool, let's go!" Chihiro said, running back to the road and getting into a taxi. "Taiyaki Wakaba. As fast as possible, please"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Look! Amazing Taiyaki, Race to Wakaba!" Chiaki pointed.

"Great find, Chiaki," Hajime replied. "Now, we just need to know where exactly that is."

"Sir," Chiaki said. "Do you know if there's a Taiyaki place called Wakaba?"

"Yeah, Taiyaki Wakaba,"

"Great, thanks,"

**Leon and Ibuki**

The cab pulled up to the taiyaki place as the clue box lingered outside. "The clue box!"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"It's time to make some taiyaki,"

**[i] Make Taiyaki**

_ **Taiyaki is a Japanese pastry, shaped like a fish, and filled with red bean, chocolate, or other fillings. Teams must now learn how to make thirty perfect ones. Once the judge deems every taiyaki perfect, teams will receive their next clue.** _

"Alright," Leon said. "Let's do this."

Leon and Ibuki watched the demonstration. The demo first greased up the taiyaki pan and then poured the batter in around half of the way. Then, he used a piping bag to squeeze some red bean into it before covering it up with batter, tilting it to get it in the places it didn't reach, and flipping it over over the stove.

"Seems easy enough," Ibuki said. "Let's a go!"

They made their way to their station where they each had a pan containing three molds each. They greased it up as Leon poured some batter into his as Ibuki began to pour some batter into hers.

"This is relaxing," Ibuki said.

"Yeah… it's not really as stressful as climbing the side of a tower, and I doubt I can get hurt doing th-"

Then he touched the hot iron.

"AAAHAHAHh! That's hot!"

They squeezed some red bean into it before topping it off with more batter and closing it to flip it over.

"How long do we wait?" Leon asked. Ibuki pointed at a wall sign that said "2.5 Minutes Each Side"

"Alright," Leon said. "Wait, I don't have a watch."

"Leave it to me!" Ibuki said. "Ibuki is great for keeping tempo!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make Taiyaki," Chihiro read.

"Ooh! Sounds fun!" Hina shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"That was less of a lead than I expected," Leon said. "Whatever. It's still a lead."

"I'm gonna open it. I wanna open it. I'm totally gonna open it." Ibuki repeated.

"Sure, open it. If it's not done, I'll just continue with mine."

Ibuki opened it up. "It looks done."

She tried to pick it up but squealed from the heat. She ended up turning it over and slamming them on the mat to loosen them.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"How do we do this?" Chihiro asked, watching the demonstration.

"Looks simple enough," Hina replied "Come on, we don't need to watch much more."

"But how long are we supposed to cook it for?"

"We'll just eyeball it."

"That's not how procedures work…"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Now!" Ibuki shouted, opening up the pans.

"Oh, that's perfect!" Leon said. They banged the pan on the table to release the taiyaki as they greased up the pan again.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Now, I guess?" Chihiro asked. They nodded as they opened it, revealing the fish shape.

"Oh, Hina, that's no good," Chihiro said.

"What? Why?"

"You see? It's too soft and undercooked."

"Graah!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki flipped over their pans as Ibuki began counting down. Chihiro began watching them.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Hina," Chihiro said. "Let's time ours off of theirs. Look at their taiyaki. It looks perfect."

"Alright," Hina replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Alright, now!" Ibuki said, opening up the pans and dumping them out.

As Leon and Ibuki began pouring their next layer of batter, so did Chihiro and Hina. They closed the pans just as Chihiro and Hina did, and flipped it over at the same time.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"Alright, let's do this!" Hajime shouted.

"Shit," Leon said. "Whatever. We still have a good lead."

"What do we do?" Chiaki asked.

"Oh, you just pour the batter in and wait for an hour," Leon said.

"Yeah… no…" Chiaki said. "Not cool."

**Chihiro and Hina**

They mimicked Leon and Ibuki's actions as they flipped over the pan and let the fish out.

"Oh, these look gorgeous," Hina said. "I have to resist the urge to eat it right now."

"If you eat it, we'll have to redo it. You can eat it when we're running out the door."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I think Chihiro and Hina are following our timing," Ibuki said.

"It's fine. There's nothing we can do about it. As long as we don't make any mistakes, we'll maintain our lead at this rate."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki poured the batter into the pans and then squeezed the red bean inside. They then closed the pan and flipped it over.

"Oh, crap," Hajime said, turning on the stove. "That was close."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Can we get a check?" Leon asked. The judge walked up and first inspected the outside of each taiyaki. Then, he took a knife to cut them open and inspect the red bean inside.

"It's good," he said, handing over their clue.

Ibuki jumped up and down. "WOO!"

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way to Harumi Wharf," Leon read.

**[i] Proceed to: Harumi Wharf**

_ **Teams must now make their way to Harumi Wharf, where they will find their next clue.** _

"Yahoo!" Ibuki shouted, running outside and hailed a taxi.

"Harumi Wharf," Leon said. The cab began moving. "We've got a good lead, at least a five-to-ten minute lead on Chihiro and Hina. It's not huge, but it could mean the difference between first and second place."

"This feels amazing!" Ibuki shouted. "First place! I think it's the first time we've been in first while leaving a challenge!"

"It's definitely a good feeling," Leon replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Dammit," Hina said.

"It's alright," Chihiro replied. "We can catch up later. We just have six more to do then we can get it checked."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"How long do we cook it?" Chiaki asked.

"I'm not sure," Hajime replied. "It can't be _that_ long.

"Oh, over there!" Chiaki pointed. "2.5 Minutes."

"Were going to have to time that ourselves," Hajime said. "I don't have a watch."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Chihiro and Hina dumped their taiyaki onto the table.

"Check?" Chihiro asked. The judge came in and looked at the outside, then sliced them open. He then set three of them aside.

"These ones have the bean leaking outside of the taiyaki," the judge said. "Redo them."

"Dammit," Hina said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Okay, now," Hajime said, flipping the pan over and dumping out the taiyaki. "That looks good… maybe a little too brown…"

"It's fine," Chiaki replied. "Just keep going."

"Are we allowed to check these so far or do we have to do it all at once?" Hajime asked.

"You can get it checked now," the judge said. He walked up and looked. "These are too overcooked. Do it again."

He scooped them into the garbage can.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Can we get a check now?" Hina asked.

"It's good," the judge replied, giving them their clue.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

Hina grabbed a taiyaki and stuffed it in her mouth. "Let's go, we need to catch up to them."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"God dammit," Hajime said.

"Don't worry," Chiaki said. "Let's just continue this challenge. There's no one on this course but us."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Sir, can you go any slower?" Leon asked. "We're going like half the speed limit.

"I'm going fast…" he replied. "Anyways, here you are."

They got out of their cab and sprinted towards the clue box.

"Roadblock. Who wants to light up Tokyo?"

**[R] Light Up Tokyo**

_ **The Tokyo Bay Fireworks Show is an annual event where over 12,000 explosions light up the night sky. In this Roadblock, one team member must look at this example and replicate this fireworks setup. If the judge approves of their work, teams will set it off and receive their next clue.** _

"If you did the last Roadblock, your partner must do this one," Leon read. "Alright, it's you! Don't let me down!"

"Got it!" Ibuki shouted, running over to the fireworks display. The display itself was made of ten rows of mortars which were all bolted together and secured with a wooden plank on either side.

"_So what we had to do for this challenge was to go into the trucks and find the rows of tubes that were the correct size and amount as the example," Ibuki explained. "They already gave us the rows, we didn't need to assemble the rows ourselves, but we did have to look for them inside the trucks. There were five trucks there to make things confusing. Anyways, after, we just had to bolt a wooden plank to both sides well enough that the system would be secure, wouldn't tilt, wouldn't fall over, and wouldn't fall apart."_

"Oh, boy," Ibuki said, counting the amount of mortars in a row. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine," she counted. She ran over to the truck and tried to find a row of mortars that had nine of them.

"These trucks are enormous," Ibuki said. "Why are there so many of these?"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Can we get a check now?" Hajime asked. The judge gave them a thumbs' up as he handed over the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"Thank you," Hajime said. They raced back out to their cab.

"I'm not sure if we lost or gained any time there," Hajime said. "But the record shows that we are still behind, and it doesn't matter how far behind them we finish. We need to get into first soon."

**Ibuki**

Ibuki pulled two rows of mortars out of the truck. "These are heavy," She said.

"You've got this, Ibuki!' Leon shouted. Ibuki walked over and compared them to the model to make sure it was correct.

"Alright," She said, running to her workstation and setting them down on the floor. She ran back to the truck and began searching for more as another cab pulled up.

"Chihiro and Hina are here!" Leon shouted. "Go faster!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Roadblock, who wants to light up Tokyo?" Chihiro read. "I have to do it."

"Good luck! It's gonna be attention to detail! Remember the guillotine!"

"Got it!" Chihiro replied.

**Ibuki**

Ibuki came back and threw two more rows of mortars onto her workstation. "Alright, I need six more," she said.

**Chihiro**

"Oh my god," Chihiro said.

"_When I entered the truck, there were hundreds of tube rows, each with very miniscule differences. Some of them were different heights, some had a different number of mortars, and some of the tubes were just too big." Chihiro explained. "It didn't help that it was really heavy."_

Chihiro picked up one as he slowly walked towards his workstation. Meanwhile, Ibuki ran back and came up with two. "How can she carry two?" Chihiro asked.

**Ibuki**

Ibuki grabbed the last two rows of mortars that she needed and ran it over to the workstation.

"Oh, these are too short," Ibuki said, picking them up and running back to the truck.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro picked up another and began walking slowly back to the workspace. But he dropped it right over his foot.

"Augh," he groaned.

"Are you alright?" Ibuki asked.

"I'm fine," Chihiro replied.

Ibuki went on her own project.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in Last Place**

"It's all me," Chiaki said. "It's our chance to catch up to the others."

**Ibuki**

"Alright, Ibuki needs a long board," Ibuki said,

"_One of the trucks was reserved for the boards," Ibuki said. "But the boards were all different sizes as well. And it was hard to tell exactly how long it needed to be without picking one up and wooshing all the way back over to the example to check the length."_

Ibuki rushed to the example to measure the board against the model. "Too short," she said.

**Chihiro**

"That's almost all of them," Chihiro said. "Two more and I'll be done with this part."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki was carrying two at a time and was quickly catching up to Chihiro.

"You've got this, Chiaki!" Hajime shouted.

"Go!" Hina shouted. "Go fast!"

"Keep your lead, Ibuki!"

**Ibuki**

Ibuki measured another plank. "Too long… by around three centimeters… come on!"

"_Some of the planks had very miniscule differences," Ibuki said. "Ibuki saw one was around two or three centimeters too long or short. Which was mega dumb."_

**Chihiro**

Chihiro tossed the last row of mortars onto his workstation. "Alright, done," he said. "Now for the wood…"

**Ibuki**

Ibuki grabbed the second plank and measured it to make sure it was right. "No!" she said. "Too short!"

**Chiaki**

"Almost done," Chiaki said, digging through the mortars.

"_Being the last one there made things a lot more difficult," Chiaki said. "The other two teams have already done their searching, so there are less tubes for me to find, but I was sure I could stick through it."_

"Come on… that's definitely too short…"

**Ibuki**

"Got it!" Ibuki said, running out to the workstation. She opened the toolbox there and pulled out a few nails and a hammer. She put in a nail on the very end of the plank and pressed it against the row of mortars as she hammered it in.

"It's hammer time!" she shouted. The other teams laughed.

"Ibuki, dammit, stop being funny!" Hajime shouted. "You're relieving the tension!"

"Okay, okay," Ibuki replied, smiling. "Just being myself…"

**Chihiro**

Chihiro pulled out two planks of wood from the truck and made his way down to the workstation.

"Alright, how do I do this?"

He got one of the rows of mortars to stand upright as he began pressing a nail to the side and hammering it down.

**Chiaki**

"Hgnnn…" Chiaki said. "Got it!"

She came out of the truck holding the two rows of mortars and hauled them off to the workstation.

**Chihiro**

"I have to make… sure… that everything… is… right…" Chihiro said between breaths.

"_I had to be extremely careful that I was doing everything right as I was finishing it," Chihiro explained. "Because if I finished it and something was wrong, if it was something I'd messed up in the beginning, there was a chance that I'd have to disassemble the entire thing and start from scratch."_

Chihiro began to bang the end of the nail into the wood, fastening the planks to the mortars.

**Ibuki**

Ibuki pounded the nail and used her fingers to steady it as she banged it with a hammer.

"I'm getting worried she's going to flatten a finger," Leon said.

"OW!"

"Yup, there it is."

Ibuki stuck her finger in her mouth. "Owchies."

**Chiaki**

Chiaki went back and forth to try to measure the distance between the mortars with her arms and running back to the planks with her arms awkwardly in the same position to put two of the rows of mortars.

**Chihiro**

Chihiro pounded his finger. "Gah!"

He sniffled and then wiped the tears off his eyes.

**Ibuki**

Ibuki hammered the last nail into the display. "Can I get a check?"

The judge walked up and looked at it, looked at all of the nails, looked at the mortars, and looked inside.

**[X] No Wires Set Up**

"Sorry, no good," the judge said. Ibuki looked back at her apparatus. "Hmm… hmmmhmmm…"

**Chihiro**

Chihiro continued hammering the nails, hand far far away from the hammer. But, the nail bent. "Okay… nail bent weird… gonna have to pull that out. I still have several more nails to do..."

**Chiaki**

"Alright, I've definitely caught up to Chihiro," Chiaki said. "Maybe I can pass her if I do this right… but I'll still need to pass Leon and Ibuki…"

**Ibuki**

Ibuki opened her toolkit again to see a bunch of wires. Then, she went out and saw the wires on the example. "Oh. Oooh! Ibuki is dumb."

She picked up the wires and began untangling them and attaching the wires to the bottom of each mortars, then to the trigger. "Can I get a check please?"

"It's good," the judge said. Ibuki jumped up and down. "Get some of the fireworks and put them into the mortars."

Ibuki ran over to a truck and pulled out a bunch of fireworks and stuffed it into the mortars. The judge handed her the button as she pressed it, launching them into the air and bursting into a fireball of light.

"WOOHOO!" Ibuki shouted. The judge handed them the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

**[i] Proceed to: Radio Kaikan**

_ **Akihabara is home to neon lights and is the heart of Tokyo's "otaku culture". Teams must now find this building, Radio Kaikan, and search through its stores to find action figures of both team members. Once teams have both action figures, they will find their next clue tacked onto the bottom.** _

"Okay, we're going down to Akihabara," Leon said. "Come on, Ibuki, you did great!"

"Thanks!" Ibuki said. "My finger is still owchies though."

"Suck it up. It's for a hundred million yen."

"I thought I would get a nice Leon for a change…"

**Chihiro**

Chihiro continued hammering the sides until the nails were all the way in. "Alright… I've just got the wires left…"

He bent over and began assembling the wires.

**Chiaki**

"I'm neck and neck with Chihiro now," Chiaki explained, assembling the wires. "I could definitely pass them. Check please!"

The judge looked at it. "It's all good. Put in the fireworks and set it off and I'll give you the clue!"

**Chihiro**

"Can I get a check please?" Chihiro asked.

"It's good," the judge replied. "Go stuff it with fireworks!"

Chiaki and Chihiro stuffed their mortars with fireworks. Chiaki fired it a few seconds before Chihiro, leaving a nice light show in the air.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Sorry," Chihiro said. "They caught up."

"It's not over until it's over," Hina replied. "You did fine. We can catch up later."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Nice job!" Hajime said. "We pulled ahead!"

"We've still got Leon and Ibuki to take care of," Chiaki said. "They've been in first place for most of the leg. That has to change soon or we'll be toast."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Is this it?" Leon asked. The driver nodded as they got out and ran into the bustling streets of Akihabara.

"This hurts my eyes after the darkness of the wharf!" Ibuki said, going into the store. They approached the action figures and began going through them.

"They're supposed to be action figures of us…" Leon said. "That's pretty cool."

"Agreed," Ibuki replied. "Mega cool!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"They're like ten minutes ahead of us," Chihiro said. "It doesn't sound like a lot, but it could mean the difference between first and second,"

"I can't believe that Leon and Ibuki are the ones to beat right now," Hina said. "I would've thought that would be Hajime and Chiaki from the very start."

"That's the kind of game this is," Chihiro replied. "Expect the unexpected."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"We've already gone through two roadblocks, the Finish Line is bound to come soon," Chiaki said. "I really hope it's not after this needle in a haystack challenge. Those are practically luck."

"I agree," Hajime replied. "They have to have something we can catch up on. Hopefully the final challenge will trip everyone else up."

"That's assuming it won't trip us up," Chiaki said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki walked down the aisle, staring at the figures. "Oh, look, there's Hajime," Ibuki said, pointing to the Hajime figurine. "Oh, it's so cute!"

"Not what we're looking for!" Leon said. "Come on."

Ibuki left it behind and continued searching. "Oh, there's me!" Ibuki picked up the chibi Ibuki action figure. "Look at how cute it is!"

"Yeah, it is pretty cute," Leon said. "But we need to find me before we can leave this place."

"I can't find it," Ibuki replied. "Try the next floor?"

"Yeah," Leon said.

"_This place was massive," Leon explained. "And there were so many figures. It was like 'Where's Waldo'."_

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki took their bags out of the cab as they ran into the building. "Alright, let's go do this!"

They began browsing the action figure section. "Oh, there's me!" Hajime said, swiping the Hajime figurine.

"That was fast," Chiaki replied. "But if yours is on the first floor, I doubt mine is. Let's move onto the next floor."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Come on!" Chihiro said, stepping into the building. They began browsing the aisle as Hina moved right past a Chihiro figurine.

"Do you see anything?" Chihiro asked.

"Nope," Hina replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki went up to the third floor. "Okay… we're bound to see it sometime…" Ibuki said. "Oh! There!"

Ibuki pointed as Leon swiped the figurine. "Good eye!" he said. They looked on the bottom as Ibuki's figurine said "Big" and Leon's said "Egg".

"Oh, I know where we're going!" Leon said.

"Where?"

"The Tokyo Dome! The baseball field!"

**[i] Proceed to: Tokyo Dome**

_ **Teams must now realize that the Big Egg is referring to Tokyo's main baseball stadium, the Tokyo Dome. They will now find their next clue in front of the stadium.** _

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"I really hope it's a baseball challenge then off to the Finish Line!" Leon said. They ran down the stairs and right past Hajime and Chiaki.

"Oh, crap, they're here already?" Ibuki asked.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It's not here, and Leon and Ibuki just left," Hajime said. "Let's go to the next floor."

"Alright," Chiaki replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Do you want to move on?" Hina asked.

"Hina," Chihiro said. "I think I see mine… right in front of you…"

"Huh?"

Chihiro walked up and grabbed it.

"Oh… haha… I don't know how I missed that…"

"Let's move on now."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Oh, it's right here," Hajime said, snatching up the Chiaki figurine.

"Don't be too rough with me," Chiaki replied. They looked on the bottoms to see "Big Egg"

"Big Egg?" Hajime asked. "Oh… The Tokyo Dome?"

"I don't know…" Chiaki replied. "Let's ask our taxi driver."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Damn… Hajime and Chiaki just left…" Chihiro said. "And I saw Leon and Ibuki leave a while ago."

"It's fine," Hina said. "Don't worry about them. We can do this."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran out to their cab. "Do you know what the Big Egg is?" Hajime asked.

"It's the Tokyo Dome, right?"

"Sure, take us there." Hajime said, getting inside.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"I am still in awe that we're in first place right now," Leon said.

"Come on, Leon! Don't be so persimmon! We can do this!"

Their cab stopped as they ran out to the clue box in front of the dome.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 1st Place**

"It's time to go global," Leon read.

**[i] Go Global**

_ **Along the race, teams travelled eastwards and completely circumnavigated the globe. And now, teams must measure the distance they've travelled on this journey.** _

_ **First, teams will be given baseballs to measure with. Using this scale at the Pitcher's mound, teams must estimate their travel distance in miles. If they can get the correct distance within 2000 miles of error, they will receive their next clue.** _

Leon and Ibuki went inside the Dome.

They approached a massive globe at 1st base. "Okay, so what else do we have to work with?"

Leon picked up a whiteboard. Written on it was "Do calculations and math here! Circle answer before asking for a check!"

"_There, we were given a whiteboard, a calculator, and a baseball. That was it." Leon said._

Leon ran over to the sign at the Pitcher's Mound. "Alright, one baseball width is 2,000 kilometers."

He ran back to the globe.

"Okay, okay, let's start our journey," Leon said, placing the baseball over Tokyo.

"Wait," Ibuki said. "Shouldn't we try to find out by rolling the baseball?"

"Good point," Leon replied. "Alright."

He ran back to the board and measured the rotation of the ball. "Okay, one rotation is around 6,000 kilometers."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Here it is," Hajime said. He and Chiaki ran outside in front of the stadium.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"It's time to go global," Hajime read.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Ibuki, get the whiteboard." Leon said. Ibuki picked it up and prepared to take notes. "The first place we visited was Los Angeles in the States,"

"_None of the countries and cities were highlighted," Leon explained. "But that wasn't an issue. We did do research on each country and city at the airport, so we did have a good idea of where each place was."_

"Okay, distance between Tokyo and Los Angeles is around 8800 kilometers," Leon said. Ibuki scribbled it down.

"Next was Montreal," Leon said. "Around… 4,000 kilometers?"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Let's do this!" Hajime said, running into the stadium.

"They're here," Leon said.

"Ignore them. Don't worry, we can get through this!"

Hajime read the clue and measured the baseball. "Okay, so it's around 6,000 kilometers."

"Wait," Chiaki said.

"What?"

"Our clue says to measure it in _miles_."

"Miles?" Hajime asked. He looked at the sign, which was in kilometers. Looking behind it, he saw the scale in miles. "Oh, there we go. It's a bit under… four thousand miles. Maybe if I'd have to guess… 3800?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Okay, Montreal to Paris wa-"

"No, Brazil."

"Oh, Brazil. How did I forget that?"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Oh! I found it!" Chihiro said, plucking up Hina's figurine. "It's so cute!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

Hina picked it up and looked on the bottom. "Big egg…" she read. "That's the Dome, right?"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Okay, Tokyo to Los Angeles is around… 5500 miles." Hajime said, holding the calculator.

"_I had a tactic where I would use the dry erase marker to mark a line on the ball, and use that to judge how far it rotated. From that, I would use the calculator and the angle to try to calculate the amount of miles."_

"Next was Montreal," Hajime said.

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki read the clue over.

"Alright, from Brazil to Paris," Leon said. "Boy, this is a long one."

"Leon," Ibuki said.

"Alright, it's around…"

"Leon"

"8,000 kilometers."

"LEON."

"What?"

"The clue says to measure it in miles."

"So?"

"We're doing kilometers."

"..."

Leon threw the baseball on the floor in anger. "Fine. Let's remeasure it! If they have it in miles, they're-"

"Don't worry! They'll make a mistake!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime measured the distance between Greece and South Africa. "Alright, around 5,000 miles."

Chiaki scribbled it down.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Miles are over here," Ibuki said.

"God dammit," Leon replied. "All that time and work wasted."

He ran back over to their globe and remeasured the distance between Tokyo and Los Angeles.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Go global," Chihiro read. "It'd be great if we saw some teams in there."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Then, Thailand to Hong Kong," Hajime said. "I'd say around 1500"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Alright, Brazil to Paris, back where we left off," Leon said. "5700 miles."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina measured the ball. "Okay, one ball circumference is around 6,000 kilometers."

"Wait," Chihiro replied. "It says we need it in miles."

"Oh, I see," Hina replied. "We can't afford to make mistakes like that. The Finish Line is in reach! I can feel it."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Then Korea back to Tokyo," Hajime said. "That should be around 700 miles."

"Okay, I'll add them up," Chiaki said. She scribbled on the whiteboard and circled her answer. "Judge!"

The judge showed up. "Lemme see it."

Chiaki held up her whiteboard. "41000 miles."

The judge looked at it. "That's correct."

"Yes!" Hajime shouted. The judge handed him the clue.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"Make your way back to the Main Course building at Hope's Peak Academy for the Finish Line!" Hajime read.

**[i] Proceed to Finish Line: Hope's Peak Academy Main Course Building**

_*Monokuma stood with the eight eliminated teams at the Finish Line mat*_

_ **Teams first started this journey at this very academy. And now, the newer, Main Course building will serve as the Finish Line of the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition. The first team to check in at the Finish Line will win the one hundred million yen, and the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition.** _

"Come on! Let's go!" Hajime shouted. He and Chiaki ran outside. "We're in first, and we're headed to the Finish Line! We cannot afford to screw up!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"DAMMIT!" Leon shouted, pounding his fist against the globe. "DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!"

"We have to finish," Ibuki said. "Come on!"

"Fine." Leon said. "We have… distance between Thailand and Hong Kong."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"They just left, and I think they said something about the Finish Line," Chihiro said. "Not good."

"It's fine," Hina replied. "They could get lost. Don't count our chickens before they hatch. Now, let's continue. Morocco to Athens."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Taxi!" Hajime shouted. "Taxi? Why aren't there any taxis? Grr… why did we let ours go?"

"Just steal one of the ones waiting for the other teams." Chiaki said. "This is a dire situation. We have to."

Hajime ran up to the taxi. "Hi, can you take us?"

"I'm waiting," the driver said.

"Please, please please!" Hajime pleaded.

"I'm waiting. Get a different cab."

"We're in a huge race!"

"Yeah, but they're racing too!"

"Leave him, Hajime," Chiaki said." he's not budging."

They tried the second taxi to a similar response.

"Dammit! Why did we let our taxi go?"

"Let's just run on the street. We're bound to see one soon. It's Tokyo." Chiaki replied.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Okay, almost there," Chihiro said, rolling the ball from Dubai to Thailand.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"And… that's around 700," Leon said.

"I'll add it up!" Ibuki shouted.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Taxi!" Hajime shouted. One finally pulled over.

"We need to get to Hope's Peak Academy. As fast as possible. We're in a huge race for one hundred million yen!"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Ibuki held up the whiteboard. "40923"

"That's good," the judge replied, handing over the clue.

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Make your way back to the Main Course building at Hope's Peak Academy for the Finish Line" Leon read. "Great. Just great. We lost it."

"We don't know," Ibuki replied. "Stay optimistic, baseball boy! They could have something go wrong."

They ran out to their cab. "Hope's Peak Academy," Leon said. "As fast as possible! We'll give you everything we have!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"I'm unsure," Hajime said. "We wasted a few minutes with the cab drama. We didn't see anyone else leave the stadium but we left the scene, so they could very well be ahead or just behind us. We don't know for sure, but hopefully we're in the lead and the other teams are still trapped at the baseball stadium."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"We don't know," Ibuki said. "Haj haj and Chiaki could've gotten their cab lost, or they stopped for gas, or a dinosaur ripped their car to shreds, or they got a flat,"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Come on!" Hajime said, rapping his finger in anticipation. "This is nervewracking."

* * *

A taxi approached the entrance to Hope's Peak Academy. And out of the taxi, came a team, running through the academy's grounds towards the Main Course building.

Monokuma waited at the Finish Line with the other eliminated teams. Everyone, from Sonia and Kaito to Shuichi and Kaede, awaited for the figures to reveal themselves. Silhouettes formed as they sprinted through the nighttime darkness and approached the lights.

Hajime and Chiaki ran under a light, revealing their faces and their faces of disbelief, running up onto the Finish Line, astonished.

"Hajime and Chiaki," Monokuma said.

"Yeah?" Hajime shouted, covering his face with his shirt in disbelief. Chiaki smiled and heavily breathed.

"Twelve countries," he said. "Twenty-one cities, over 40,000 miles, you are the first team to arrive!"

"YEAH!" Hajime said, wrapping Chiaki in a huge bear hug.

"HOWEVER,"

"Huh?" Chiaki asked.

"Before I am allowed to check you in, there is one final hurdle you must overcome."

"_We're at the Finish Line," Hajime said. "In first, but surprise, surprise, there's another challenge we have to complete."_

"You're joking," Hajime replied.

"Nope!" Monokuma replied. "I have your next clue, rip and read it right here."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Currently in 1st Place**

"AAGH!" Hajime shouted, snatching the clue out of Monokuma's hands. "This is It!"

**[i] This Is It**

_ **The Main Course Building is the Finish Line for the Amazing Race. But before I'm allowed to check them into the Finish Line, they must first complete their final challenge, over by the Old Building. Here in the courtyard of the Old Building, teams will encounter nineteen objects they've encountered on the race.** _

**U-Turn, Keyring, Bagel, Vinyl Record, Oar, Stone Dragon, Microphone, Soccer Ball, Trapeze, Crab, Teapot, Firework, Cheese, Tire, Baseball, Pepper, Spear, Deck of Cards, Joystick**

_ **Teams must then place twelve of the nineteen objects onto this platform. However, the objects must follow these requirements:** _

_ **Each leg of the race must be represented by one item.** _

_ **One must be a U-turn** _

_ **Two must be modern sports equipment** _

_ **Three either are or hold food or drink** _

_ **Two are from Detours** _

_ **Four are from Roadblocks** _

_ **There are 50,388 possible ways to put up twelve objects on the platform. But only one combination will fulfill these requirements. The first team who completes this challenge will be able to run over to the Finish Line at the Main Course Building, and will win the one hundred million yen, and the Amazing Race.** _

"I can't believe this," Hajime said. "We were at the fricking thing."

"It's okay," Chiaki said. "We can do this. We have a lead, we can get through this."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"40,000," Chihiro showed.

"That's correct," the judge said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in Last Place**

"Come on. Let's finish this race," Hina said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime and Chiaki ran to the courtyard of the main building, where one circular pedestal, divided into three parts by opaque walls, laid. Behind each pedestal was nineteen objects.

"Alright," Hajime said. "How do we go along with this?"

"Let's try to fulfill the first requirement, then go from there." Chiaki said. "Try and identify everything here."

Hajime picked up a spear. "This was from Greece."

* * *

**Leg 6 Roadblock: Greece**

_Hajime thrust the spear at his partner's breastplate as he deflected it with the shield._

* * *

"That was from the Roadblock," Hajime said. "Make a mental note of that."

"_For this challenge, we weren't allowed to look at any notes we had taken during the race, and we weren't allowed to take any notes throughout the challenge. We just had to rely on our own logic and intuition." Chiaki explained._

"We have this bagel," Chiaki said. "That was from Canada."

* * *

**Leg 2 Detour: Canada**

_Hajime rolled out his tenth bagel as Chiaki rolled out her twelfth._

_"These bagels look great," Chiaki said._

* * *

"That's from the Detour," Chiaki said. "And also a food item, so it counts for that too,"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and ibuki ran up to the Finish Line, with Leon visibly upset.

"Leon and Ibuki," Monokuma said. "You are the second team to arrive."

"We know," Leon said. "We've lost it."

"Not yet," Monokuma replied, whipping out a clue. "There's still something you have to do."

**Leon and Ibuki: Currently in 2nd Place**

"Oh my god, we're still in this?" Leon asked.

"Yahoo!" Ibuki shouted.

"I'm saying, it's not over until it's over. Now go get your asses over there and complete the challenge!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

Hajime picked up an oar. "This is from Greece too,"

* * *

**Leg 6 Detour: Greece**

_Chiaki stabilized the boat with oars as Hajime rowed._

* * *

"From the Detour…"

**Leon and Ibuki**

Leon and Ibuki ran up to the pedestals. "Let's do this!" Leon shouted. "Let's just try to identify what we have to work with."

Ibuki picked up a video game joystick. "Korea!"

* * *

**Leg 11 Roadblock: South Korea**

_Ibuki smacked the buttons as she controlled Kirby to suck up Mr. Game and Watch._

* * *

"Alright, we've got down Korea," Leon said.

"What about the U-turn?" Ibuki asked.

"That came up in Brazil."

* * *

**Leg 3: Brazil**

"_Ah, shit." Leon said, observing the U-turn board with their faces on it._

_"You were right, I guess…" Ibuki said, excitement toned down. "Soccer can't be too hard. Let's just go."_

* * *

"But there was also a U-turn in Dubai too, right?" Ibuki asked.

* * *

**Leg 8: Dubai**

_Leon and Ibuki got out of their cab and ran to the U-turn board._

_"Oh, they got U-turned?" Leon asked. "Great. We still have a shot. We choose not to U-turn anyone!"_

* * *

"Oh, boy, this is tough," Leon said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Ah, this brings back memories," Chiaki said, hefting a stone dragon to the pedestal.

* * *

**Leg 10 Roadblock: China**

_Chiaki walked with the dragon statue, hunched over and panting. Hoisting it over the pedestal, she sighed and asked for a check._

* * *

"That was a Roadblock," Hajime said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Currently in 3rd Place**

"Chihiro and Hina," Monokuma said. "You are the third team to arrive."

"Yeah, we figured," Chihiro said.

"However, the race is not over, there is still one more challenge you could make up some time on."

He produced a clue, which they grabbed and read over.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Record? When did we see a record?" Leon asked.

* * *

**Leg 7: South Africa**

_Leon and Ibuki ran into the library, right next to Makoto and Sayaka, and placed the record on the player._

_"IsiZulu siwulimi olukhulunywa kakhulu eNingizimu Afrika, futhi bangaphezulu kwamaphesenti angamashumi amahlanu abantu abakwaziyo ukusikhuluma. Ngemuva kwesiSwahili, kungulimi lwesibili olukhulunywa kunazo zonke olimini lwesiBantu futhi ibhalwe ngezinhlamvu zesiLatin."_

_"Fuck," Leon said._

* * *

"Dunno, put it to the side for now," Ibuki said. "Fireworks. That was today."

* * *

**Leg 12 Roadblock: Tokyo**

_Ibuki ran over to a truck and pulled out a bunch of fireworks and stuffed it into the mortars. The judge handed her the button as she pressed it, launching them into the air and bursting into a fireball of light._

* * *

"Baseball. Also today."

* * *

**Leg 12: Tokyo**

_Leon rolled the baseball across the globe as Ibuki calculated the distance._

* * *

"Oh my god, this is insane." Leon said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"These bring back memories," Chihiro said, running up to the pedestal.

"This looks like a complex puzzle," Hina replied.

"Let's just separate them by leg." Chihiro said. "Let's find something from leg 1."

Hina dug through the items. "Nothing here's from Leg 1."

"What? Okay, what are some of the ones you're not sure about where they're from?"

Hina picked up the deck of cards, record, and trapeze.

"This is a trapeze from Canada," Chihiro said. "Remember?"

* * *

**Leg 2 Roadblock: Canada**

_"Wait, can I just hold the bar right here?" Hina asked, gripping the bar._

* * *

"Oh, the swingy thing?" Hina asked. "Yeah. That's it."

"I don't know about the cards and the record, though."

* * *

**Leg 1 Starting Line: Tokyo**

_Monokuma pulled out a pack of 22 playing cards, each with a number labelled 1 to 22 on them and began shuffling them._

_"Each of you will take a card. Whichever number you receive is the order that you will begin to choose your partners."_

* * *

"Yeah, I have no clue," Chihiro said. "I don't know if there is actually anything from the States in here."

Leon and Ibuki

"Soccer ball was from the Detour in Brazil," Leon said. "We got U-turned…"

* * *

**Leg 3 Detour: Brazil**

"Alright, I think I can do this," Leon said. He kicked the ball as it whizzed right past the goalie's hand.

* * *

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Tea kettle, only thing from Morocco," Chiaki said. "Let's just try this. Check!"

**Hajime and Chiaki: 1st Check**

**\- Trapeze [X]**

**\- Soccer Ball [X]**

**\- Cheese [X]**

**\- Tea Kettle**

**\- Oar**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Joystick [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Baseball**

**\- Record**

"Sorry, it's not correct." Headmaster Kirigiri said.

"Dammit," Hajime said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"Cheese was from the Detour in Paris," Chihiro said. "And the Oar could either be Paris when we rowed down the Seine or it could be Greece at the Detour,"

"Umm… I'm not so sure about Greece," Hina said. "Weren't the oars in Greece one-sided?"

"You have a point," Chihiro replied.

**Leon and Ibuki**

"Let's try this," Leon said, picking up the U-turn and putting it up onto the pedestal.

"Check!" Ibuki shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki: 1st Check:**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Bagel**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Cheese [X]**

**\- Tea Kettle**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- Tire**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Crabs [X]**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Firework [X]**

"Sorry, it's not correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

"Dammit," Leon said. "Oh. I see. We have five food things and we need three. We have to replace two of them."

Leon swapped out the bagel for the trapeze and the crabs for the stone dragon.

"Check!"

**Leon and Ibuki: 2nd Check:**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Trapeze [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Cheese [X]**

**\- Tea Kettle**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- Tire [X]**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Firework [X]**

"Sorry, not correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"The tire has to be from the Dubai racetrack," Chihiro said.

* * *

**Leg 8 Roadblock: Dubai**

_Chihiro switched the drill to reverse as he kneeled down and very quickly undid all of the bolts. He pulled out the tire, then rolled over the newer tire._

* * *

"These keyrings are from the South Africa roadblock, the diving one," Hina said.

* * *

**Leg 7 Roadblock: South Africa**

_Hina took off the keys from the ring and clenched them in her hand as she unravelled the keyring._

* * *

"And the microphone was from the singing in Brazil," Chihiro said. "But the K-pop stars in Korea also used microphones."

"_There were several things that could represent more than one leg," Chihiro explained. "The U-turn could either be Brazil or could be Dubai. The microphone could either be Brazil or Korea, and the oar could either be Paris or Athens."_

"We're going to be stuck here all night," Hina said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"If the microphone, pepper, and teapot are the only things for Brazil, Thailand, and Morocco," Hajime said between breaths. "Those have to go on the board. No doubt. That means that the U-turn has to be Dubai..."

**Leon and Ibuki**

"This record looks familiar," Ibuki said. "Any ideas?"

"No," Leon replied. "But it does look familiar."

"Check!" Ibuki shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki: 3rd Check**

**\- Record**

**\- Bagel**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Crabs [X]**

**\- Joystick [X]**

**\- Baseball**

"Not correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

"Oh my god," Leon said. "It all comes down to this… please, please, please!"

**Chihiro and Hina**

"What if the deck of cards represents leg 1 somehow?" Chihiro asked.

"How so?"

"Didn't we draw cards to determine the order we picked our partner?"

"Oh my god you're right!" Hina said. "But that leaves the other requirements. Modern sports equipment. Does a tire count?"

"I would think so? Racing is a sport, right?"

"Modern sports equipment would be the soccer ball, baseball, oar, and tire." Chihiro said. "We have to make sure we only have two of those up there."

Hina brought up the items onto the pedestal. "Check!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Check 1**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Trapeze [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- Tire [X]**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Crabs [X]**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Firework [X]**

"Sorry, not correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

* * *

"Check," Chihiro said.

"That is not correct,"

"Check!" Leon shouted.

"That's incorrect."

"We would like a check," Chiaki meekly said.

"That's wrong."

"Check!"

"Check!"

"Check!"

"It's all incorrect."

* * *

**Meanwhile at the Finish Line:**

"Alright, my fellow failures!" Monokuma shouted, directed at the eliminated teams at the mat. "Who do you think will come out on top?"

"Honestly it could be anyone at this point," Shuichi said.

"Anyone but Chihiro and Hina," Celeste said. "They U-turned us. Such a dirty move."

"Of course we want our alliance members to get through it!" Kaede shouted.

"I'm not sure." Kazuichi said. "It'll probably be Chiaki and Hajime! I mean, they got here first!"

"Chihiro is real smart," Hiro said. "But I don't know if he can get this done the fastest."

"We didn't really get to see how well they performed," Kaito said. "I mean, we went home first!"

"I think the same," Sonia replied. "I am not certain because I do not know their performance."

"Honestly, it's any man's game," Rantaro said.

"Chihiro and Hina must win!" Tenko shouted. "No degenerate male deserves to win this race!"

The members of class 78 stayed silent at Tenko's remark.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Himiko said. "Whoever wins, I'll be happy for them."

"Shut the fuck up, loli girl!" Miu shouted. "Why in the fuck would you be happy! You lost!"

"You lost too!" Himiko shouted.

"I'm still disappointed over the passport," Nagito said. "Just my luck to end up with someone who loses it."

"I'm sorry," Nekomaru replied.

"Anyways, I think that if Hajime wins, it'll bring hope to the rest of the untalented scum out in the world! Even me… Ultimate Lucky Student… what a pathetic talent. But it brings hope to me."

"I'm right here," Makoto said. "But regardless of who wins, we should just let everyone know that we all put up a good fight."

"Hi, I'm also here." Akane said.

* * *

**Time Elapsed: 2 hr 16 min**

**Leon and Ibuki: Check 34**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Trapeze [X]**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Cheese [X]**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Joystick [X]**

**\- Baseball**

"I know this is a great journey, and you want to help us continue living it, but we really want to be done now." Leon said.

"It's wrong."

"My god, headmaster, I'm going to have nightmares about you," Ibuki said.

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"It's wrong," Headmaster Kirigiri said. "Keep trying."

"What if the deck of cards is leg one for some reason?" Hajime asked.

"Why so?"

"Because we can't find anything from leg one!"

"Oh well… might as well try it."

**Hajime and Chiaki: Check 38**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Bagel**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Record**

**\- Tire [X]**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Joystick [X]**

**\- Baseball**

"Still wrong," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

"Oh my god," Hajime said. "I'm going to be here forever."

**Chihiro and Hina**

"I'm never doing a puzzle again," Hina said. "I'm sworn off puzzles."

"Check!" Chihiro shouted.

**Chihiro and Hina: Check 32**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Bagel**

**\- Soccer Ball**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Baseball**

"That's not correct," King Hyrule said.

"Okay, but we're close. I can feel it." Chihiro said.

"But what could we be doing wrong?"

**Leon and Ibuki**

"To think we could win the race right now," Ibuki said. "It pumps up my blood! We're gonna win!"

"Don't jinx it," Leon replied. "Saying things like that is a jinx."

"Check!" Ibuki shouted.

**Leon and Ibuki: Check 36**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Trapeze [X]**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Keyring [X]**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Firework [X]**

**\- Baseball**

"That's incorrect," Headmaster Kirigiri said.

"At this rate, the sun's gonna come up before we finish."

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"What if… what if the microphone is from Korea?" Hajime asked.

"That makes sense," Chiaki replied. "The K-pop singers did have microphones,"

"Should we try that? Swap out the microphone for the joystick!"

Chiaki swapped the microphone and joystick.

**Chihiro and Hina**

"We have too many Roadblocks," Chihiro said. "I think that's the only issue."

"Alright, what do we do about it?" Hina asked.

"Swap out one of the items from Roadblocks with a neutral item!"

Hina picked up the record. "Oh my god," Hina said. "I just remembered what this is."

"What?"

"It's from Africa. Remember? We listened to that african language on a record?"

"Oh, that's right!" Chihiro said. "That wasn't a Roadblock or Detour. Swap it out for the keyring!"

**Hajime and Chiaki**

"Can we get a check please?" Hajime asked.

**Hajime and Chiaki: Check 38**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Bagel**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Record**

**\- Tire [X]**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Baseball**

"Sorry, it's wrong," Headmaster Kirigiri judged.

"Oh my god, what are we doing wrong?" Hajime groaned.

"Calm down," Chiaki said. "It's gonna be alright. Don't get frustrated."

"How do you expect me to not get frustrated after being here for over two hours? Especially when we arrived first."

"If you're frustrated, you'll never finish it."

**Chihiro and Hina**

Hina swapped the record for the keyring. "Can we get a check please?"

Headmaster Kirigiri arrived at the scene and began looking at their pedestal.

"Please, please, please." Chihiro said, fingers pressed together.

"Come on, it's right, you know it's right!" Hina said.

**Chihiro and Hina: Check 33**

**\- Deck of Cards**

**\- Bagel**

**\- Soccer Ball**

**\- Oar**

**\- Teapot**

**\- Spear**

**\- Record**

**\- U-Turn**

**\- Pepper**

**\- Stone Dragon**

**\- Microphone**

**\- Baseball**

"It's correct!" Headmaster Kirigiri said. Chihiro began tearing up and gave him a huge hug.

"Did they get it?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," Ibuki replied. Leon threw his water bottle on the floor in anger.

"Come on! Let's get to the finish line!" Hina shouted in glee. They stood side by side and ran up to the Main Course Building. The eliminated teams formed two rows as they clapped, and Monokuma showed them to the Finish Line.

"Chihiro and Hina!" Monokuma shouted. "Twelve countries, twenty one cities, over 40,000 miles, you are the official winners of the Amazing race: Hope's Peak Edition and the one hundred million yen, congratulations!"

**Chihiro and Hina: Winners!**

"OH MY GOD WE WON!" Chihiro shouted, Hina wrapping her arms around him and lifting him off the floor, both tearing up in disbelief.

"_I absolutely can't believe this." Chihiro said. "We won the Amazing Race. We won one hundred million yen. We beat eleven teams to this. We did it."_

"_We were such a good match for this race," Hina said. "Sure, we stumbled at the start, but we never argued, I covered his weaknesses, he covered mine, and that was enough for us to make it here. If I was paired with anyone else, I wouldn't have made it this far."_

* * *

"It's correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said. Hajime and Chiaki sighed and ran to the Finish Line as the teams gave them rounds of applause.

"Hajime and Chiaki, after twelve countries, twenty one cities, over 40,000 miles, you are team number two."

**Hajime and Chiaki: 2nd Place**

"Not bad," Hajime said. "Not bad at all."

"We might not have one the hundred million, but we did get this far, we put up a good race, and I wouldn't change anything in the world," Chiaki said. "I got to race with one of my best friends in this wacky adventure."

* * *

Leon swapped the joystick with the microphone. "Check."

"It's correct," Headmaster Kirigiri said. They ran over to the Finish Line as the teams clapped.

"Leon and Ibuki, after twelve countries, twenty-one cities, over 40,000 miles, you are team number three."

**Leon and Ibuki: 3rd Place**

"Now, Leon, don't be upset." Monokuma said.

"I'm not," Leon replied. "We came up short, but we did it. We made the finals. And I'm sure that many people counted us out leg one, leg two, leg three, but we persevered."

"Ibuki is proud of our performance!" Ibuki shouted. "Ibuki definitely would've been eliminated if I was paired up with someone. Even though we fought… and argued… and shouted… a lot… we did it. We made it, and we beat all of these arguably stronger teams. We got to finish it. That's what matters."

The teams broke form as they all wrapped around each other and congratulated each other in a massive crowd, hugging each other and conversing.

The screen faded to black.

* * *

**Race Stats:**

**This Leg:**

1st: Chihiro and Hina

2nd: Hajime and Chiaki

3rd: Leon and Ibuki

**Race Average:**

Hajime and Chiaki: 3.33

Chihiro and Hina: 3.50

Leon and Ibuki: 4.58

_Shuichi and Kaede: 2.45_

_Nagito and Nekomaru: 3.56_

_Makoto and Sayaka: 4.00_

_Miu and Kazuichi: 6.80_

_Tenko and Himiko: 6.80_

_Celeste and Akane: 8.33_

_Hiro and Rantaro: 8.00_

_Sonia and Kaito: 11.00_

**Roadblock Counts:**

Chihiro 7, Hina 7

Leon 7, Ibuki 7

Hajime 7, Chiaki 7

_Shuichi 6, Kaede 6_

_Nagito 5, Nekomaru 5_

_Makoto 5, Sayaka 4_

_Miu 3, Kazuichi 4_

_Tenko 3, Himiko 3_

_Celeste 2, Akane 2_

_Hiro 1, Rantaro 2_

_Kaito 1, Sonia 1_

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's Season 1 for you! Did you like the result?**

**This chapter is 12,000 words. That's the longest thing I've ever written in my life. I am proud of myself.**

**Anyways, be prepared for Season 2 coming soon! As of now, I am still in the planning phase. If you want to recommend countries, go right ahead! But I will say that Leg 1 will almost certainly be set in the Philippines, and we're going in a westwards route this time. Anyways, tootles, and as always, please leave a review! (I cannot emphasize this enough. Out of all my followers and views, I only get around 1-2 reviews per chapter. Leaving a review would really help motivate me for season 2!)**

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment! I do read the comments and I really do appreciate reviews and feedback. It makes me feel like people are actually enjoying this.


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